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Using Passphrases for Reckon Accounts Hosted

About

Reckon constantly ensures to continually improve and conform with the latest cybersecurity guidelines not only for our security but also for the safety of our customers and their data. We also aim to have better monitoring and have the ability to quickly deploy updates/fixes for further improvements on security measure.

It is also our responsibility that we enable our users through education on the best authentication practice to safeguard and secure access to their data and other valuable information.

One of which is the recommended use of Passphrases as opposed to Passwords.


Passwords

Most often than not, human nature typically end up using one of a few predictable patterns when creating passwords. These are based on things we can remember, such as names, locations, dates or just common English words replacing some characters with a capital letter, numbers, or a symbol.

According to the article from Statista, the following image below charts the difficulty in cracking a password.

Reference
Cybersecurity: How safe is your password? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)


In 2021, the five most common passwords reportedly used in Australia are:

PASSWORD

TIME TO CRACK

USAGE

“123456”

Less than one second

308,483 times

“password”

Less than one second

191,880 times

“lizottes”

3 hours

98,220 times

“password1”

Less than one second

86,884 times

“123456789”

Less than one second

75,856 times

REFERENCE
Most common passwords Aussies use, revealed - Cyber Security Connect


Passphrases

Passphrases are a more secure version of passwords, usually composed of four or more random words, making them longer, unpredictable, and stronger than traditional Passwords.

According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre:

In attempting to make passwords stronger, we have made them harder for humans to remember, and easier for machines to crack.

Security doesn’t have to be complicated and given a choice between remembering, Passphrases are more memorable and provides more security.

PASSWORD

SECURITY

TIME TO CRACK

“a31)=$sGht”

Very Secure

12 days

“my very eager mother”

Very Secure

Centuries

SOURCE
Password Strength Testing Tool | Bitwarden


How to create a strong passphrase?

The Australian Cyber Security Centre advises on these principles:

  1. Length
    Aim to use four or more random words, at least 14 characters in total
  2. Unpredictable
    It can come from a lyric, quote, or a sentence. It also uses spaces and, possibly, punctuations. However, the English sentences can be predictable as well as it follows grammar and punctuation rules.

    The use of random words is much more recommended in creating a mix of words. Even better if some are replaced with alphanumerics and/or characters.
  3. Unique
    Similar to passwords, reusing the same passphrase for every valuable account allows access to all your valuable information if cracked.

    Therefore, try to modify your passphrases that may relate to each service. But even better, use a different one for each site.

For more information, see Passphrases | Cyber.gov.au.


Protecting your Passphrase

  1. Secure your passphrases through a secure storage method i.e. Password managers
  2. Use a strong master password for your Password manager
  3. Use a different passphrase for every site
  4. Try to avoid using passwords from a website


Password Rules for Reckon Accounts Hosted

  1. Must not contain the user's account name or parts of the user's full name that exceed two consecutive characters
  2. Must be at least ten characters in length
  3. Must contain characters from three of the following four categories:
    1. English uppercase characters (A through Z)
    2. English lowercase characters (a through z)
    3. Digits 0 through 9
    4. Non-alphanumeric characters


Example

PASSPHRASE

UPPER & LOWER

DIGITS

NON-ALPHANUMERICS

LENGTH

“my very eager mother”

“My very eager motheR”

“My very eager m0theR”

“My very eager m0theR!”

21 characters


How did we do?

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