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UPDATE ON PASSWORD SECURITY
Post on February 2nd, 2018

OBLIC continues to stress the importance of strong passwords for your computers and all your electronic devices.  Click on the link for a short video with Password Guidance from NIST.

The accepted advice on password security in place since 2003 typically suggested having passwords with special characters, capital letters and numbers, that are changed every 30 – 90 days.  Recently NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) revised its guidelines to recommend instead strong passwords that consist of a “passphrase,” that is a “memorized secret” of a sequence of words or other easy to remember text, but not easily guessed by hackers.

Here are some additional suggestions:

+ Add two factor authentication (2FA)

In this process, after you login to your account, you are sent an email or text message with a unique password to use to access your account.

+ Encrypt all your devices

Don’t think of this as an expensive, difficult process!  Most phones have built in encryption.  Click for Windows encryption information.

+ Use a password manager

A password manager may assist you with having and remembering strong passwords for all your devices.

For further guidance for lawyers using electronic means to communicate with clients see ABA Formal Opinion 477R.

As always, if you have any additional questions, please contact us at OBLIC.

Gretchen Koehler Mote, Esq.,

Director of Loss Prevention
Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company