Does Forcing Users To Change Their Password Regularily Help Protect Their Account?

Yes, and no. Forcing users to regularily change their password does help protect against password thefts in that it creates a smaller window of opportunity for attackers to use stolen passwords. However, it can also weaken security in other areas. How users store passwords varies, and the best method to use is specific to the needs of each user. For users who store their password in their memory (human memory, not computer RAM) changing passwords complicates things, because memorizing a new password takes time. In the meantime the user may need to store the password another way (eg: writing it down), and this temporary method they choose may not be the best option for their circumstances, and therefore creates weakened security for this user. Additionally, anytime you change a password you risk getting one which is less secure. The best passwords are unique in all history (meaning no one has ever used it before), and are complex enough to be statistically unlikely to be created by another person (or super computer) anytime soon. Unfortunately there is no way to know that your password is actually new to existence. If your account hasn't been hacked yet, then you have X amount of time evidence suggesting your current password is secure. When you change to a new password you're trading a proven password for an unproven one.

Authors:James Daniel Marrs Ritchey
License:Ritchey Permissive License v8

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