Password Standards

(Applicable to Administrative Information Systems & Information Technology)

Per Directive from the Illinois Auditor General’s office, SIU must strengthen the standards for use of passwords to protect automated systems / applications.  The following standards are for SIU Carbondale.  AIS will also comply with these standards which will be in effect immediately for new IDs.  The construction of a password as noted below is to be followed if a user receives notice that his / her password has expired and should be reset.

NOTE:  Passwords will expire 60 days from the last time they were changed.

Password Construction:
Passwords will consist of the following classes.  The requirements for each class are included.

• Class – Length:  8 characters minimum
• Class – Letters:  both upper and lower case letters are to be used, at least one (1) of each
• Class – Numeric:  numbers are to be used, at least one (1)
• Class – Special Characters:  special characters are to be used, at least one (1)
• Class – Expiration:  passwords are to expire every 60 days
• Example:  !abc4zF1,  12A#bcX(

Avoid the Following:

• Do not use passwords derived from your user name.
• Do not use names of family, close friends or pets.
• Avoid repeating characters.