Selecting a Strong Password

Sometimes your agency assigns a temporary password for you to access certain systems. You are responsible for changing that temporary password to a permanent one of your choosing. Passwords are meant to be a secret, so you are not supposed to share your password with anyone, including the IT staff. Passwords should be changed periodically, at least once every 90 days. It is recommended that user-level passwords (e.g., e-mail, Web, and desktop computer, etc.) be changed more frequently, at least once every 60 days. User accounts that have system-level privileges granted through group memberships or programs should have a unique password from other accounts held by that user.