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Passwords
Passwords are an integral part of CDC’s overall security.
Your password, along with your user-ID, are the legal basis of your electronic
identity within CDC systems. If your password is compromised, then anything
you can access through your account can be at risk. Passwords are one of the
vulnerabilities most frequently targeted by someone trying to break into a system.
What are the most frequent ways in which passwords are
compromised:
- Easily identifiable personal information (family name,
pet’s name)
- Use of password cracking software
- "Brute force attacks" where every possible
combination of letters and numbers is tried (this type of attack can take
days or months depending on the strength of your password)
Similar tools are used by the CDC’s IRMO Technical Security
Team to identify accounts that may be susceptible to misuse before trouble arises.
However, there are numerous ways that you can help protect your password and
our information.
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