Rolling out a new password policy without a communication plan is a recipe for disaster. You want to avoid a situation where all end users are prompted to change their passwords without understanding what they’re doing or why –... Read More
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NIST password guidelines: Full guide to NIST password compliance
Many look to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines as the gold standard when it comes to cybersecurity best practices. But as you’ve likely heard, NIST has updated its password guidelines in the latest draft of... Read More
Creating a custom password-exclusion dictionary with ChatGPT
When cybercriminals attempt to crack passwords, it makes sense to go for the lowest hanging fruit. They’re going to start by trying the most common, easy-to-guess passwords, as chances are some end users are bound to have chosen them.... Read More
How to set up the key components of a password policy in Active Directory
Once you’ve planned out a new password policy, it’s time to put it into practice by setting the right configurations within your Active Directory. If you’re still at the planning stage, we’d recommend checking out our strategy tips for... Read More
Five strategy recommendations for planning a password policy
An Active Directory full of strong, non-compromised passwords should be an essential cybersecurity goal for every organization. A clearly articulated and enforceable password policy strategy is the best way to put this into practice. However, it’s important to tailor... Read More
[New research] Are VPN passwords secure? Two million malware-stolen passwords say no.
Today, the Specops research team is publishing new data on VPN passwords that have been stolen by malware. In total, our threat intelligence research team found 2,151,523 VPN passwords that have been compromised by malware over the past year.... Read More
How to recover a deleted Active Directory object
Most organizations today are still running Active Directory on-premises as their identity and access management solution. Many businesses are also synchronizing it with cloud directories as part of a hybrid configuration. Recovering Active Directory and deleted objects is an... Read More
How we use Threat Intelligence to find new breached passwords
What makes a good breached password list? Numbers are a good start – the more breached passwords you can cross-reference against your Active Directory, the better. You want to maximize your chances of detecting end users who are using... Read More
New hires, old problems: How to reduce password risk during onboarding
The first week of a new job always seems to involve plenty of time with the IT team – especially when onboarding remote employees. Setting up hardware, accesses, and passwords is an essential step. One of the first and... Read More
How much are weak passwords costing your organization?
Bad passwords can be a direct and indirect financial drain on any organization. They’re often the weakest link in a security chain, allowing hackers easy access to sensitive systems and data. Cyber-attacks and breaches are the obvious risks, but... Read More