Password security: an American organization validates Apple's strategy

On October 19, 2024, we revealed to youthe hidden strategybehind Apple's password suggestions. The firm favors a structure of syllables that you can easily pronounce, rather than incomprehensible sequences of characters. One approach is now receiving unexpected support following new recommendations from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The end of complex passwords

For those unfamiliar with NIST, it is the American authority that defines security standards for government agencies. Its guidelines are generally followed by the private sector, and they are now shaking up what ordinary people thought they knew about password security.

Forget everything you were taught about complex passwords. The NISTnow advises against these convoluted combinationsmixing numbers, symbols and letters that you struggle to remember. The American institute demonstrates, with supporting evidence, thatthese ultra-complex codes can ultimately make us vulnerable, although they were originally intended to strengthen our security…

But why?

The reason is quite simple. After study, it appears that when you use a complicated password, which is admittedly more difficult for a hacker to crack, you tend to write it down somewhere.

As you will have understood, the flaw comes from the fact that by not wanting to misplace your password, we make ourselves vulnerable by writing it down somewhere. This bad habit turns every data leak into a threat, but not only that. Whether on a piece of paper, in a note on a Cloud, orin a USB key, the risk is present.

Apple was therefore right in the way the firm suggested its passwords. As a reminder, they are equipped witha mnemonic way to remember them.

A new approach to better protect yourself?

To secure your accounts,use complete sentences that are easy to memorize. This NIST recommendation validates Apple's method which structures its suggestions into coherent blocks

A long password that you remember easily protects your data better than a short, complex code. Hackers have more trouble cracking a sentence of several words than a series of special characters!

Also avoid trusting all your passwords to cloud services. These platforms which centralize millions of access codes attract hackers. Opt instead fora local manager like Enpass, which keeps your data only on your devices,safe from online servers.