How to Create a Secure Compliant Password

Quick steps:

1. Use a passphrase: Passphrases are phrases you can easily remember and are long enough to create a long password.
2. Make sure the Password is over 9 characters long
3. Include a number
4. Include a non-alphanumeric character such as: !, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, ), -, <, _, +, =, <, >. ?, /, ., [, ], \, |, }, {, ~, ¿ or, `
5. Include an uppercase letter
6. Include a lowercase letter

Things not to do:

• Do not use a single dictionary word such as, “Password”, “Montreal”, “secret”
• Do not contain number patterns such as aaabbb, qwerty, zyxwvuts, or 123321.
• Do not use some version of “Welcome123” “Password123” “Changeme123”
• Do not create passwords that are so complex that they need to be written down on a sticky note, pinned to a bulletin board or written down on paper and slid under your keyboard.
• Do not use any personal information such as:
  • birth dates
  • addresses
  • phone numbers
  • names of family members,
  • pets,
  • friends,
  • fantasy characters
  • license plate numbers
  • social security numbers

Easy methods to make great passwords:

In order to create a secure and compliant password, there are a number of things to consider. There are also easy ways to make secure passwords that are also easy to remember which is the key.

Start by considering something you can picture in your head such as the tree outside your office or your carpet, shoes, living room or kitchen at home. Think about something in a room that you can remember easily such as, white wallpaper over the sink or green tile over the counters. Phrases like, “green tile over the counters” is something you could use as a password but what is referred to as a passphrase.

To make this passphrase secure, you can add numbers, capital letters or non-alphanumeric characters.

Using the example of the green tile, one could make a passphrase such as, “Green tile over the counters3” This contains a capital letter, a lowercase letter, a space (non-alphanumeric) and a number and it is also twenty-nine characters long and would most likely take 97,661,782,024.4 years to crack.