While I'm in there anyway, here are some nuggets from NIST SP 800-63B, section 5, "Authenticator and Verifier Requirements", aka password requirements:
"Verifiers SHOULD NOT require memorized secrets to be changed arbitrarily (e.g., periodically). However, verifiers SHALL force a change if there is evidence of compromise of the authenticator.”
5.1.1.1 Memorized Secret Authenticators. "Memorized secrets SHALL be at least 8 characters in length if chosen by the subscriber. Memorized secrets chosen randomly by the CSP or verifier SHALL be at least 6 characters in length and MAY be entirely numeric. [...] No other complexity requirements for memorized secrets SHOULD be imposed."
[Password hints suck. Denying bad passwords like ‘aaaaaa’ is fine. Rate limit logins.]
"Verifiers SHOULD permit claimants to use “paste” functionality when entering a memorized secret. This facilitates the use of password managers, which are widely used and in many cases increase the likelihood that users will choose stronger memorized secrets.”
If you come anywhere near authentication services for a living, you must read NIST 800-63B (https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/specialpublications/nist.sp.800-63b.pdf). It’s very clear, readable, and useful. And if you require wildly complex passwords, or disable pasting them into web forms, or make users rotate them, you’re violating government standards and best practices. Stop that!
@tek Not only are you violating standards, with the new national cybersecurity strategy you might be liable of violating those standards causes harm to your users.
@mkj@pseudonym@tek I would question the assumption that forcing users to change their passwords improves security. I’ve used the “password1”, “password2” pattern when forced to change passwords frequently and I expect everyone else on the planet has too, does that offer improved security?
@pseudonym@tek@blit32 So how about you segregate that? Surely it will improve security if you force people to go through a password reset process every odd few weeks when they need access to that kind of data and have forgotten their password, compared to if you let people set a strong password and just be done with it.
Also lots of companies force their employees to change their passwords with alarming frequency even when those employees, or even the company, never handle/s credit card info.
@tek@freeradical.zone thank you! I knew there was a standard somewhere that said you needed to allow password managers. Now I know what to throw at my boss if/when they start muttering about pasting passwords!
The vendor I worked for had a 90-day password recycling policy (and of course, you could not use an old one.) If you wanted it recovered, you had to call a phone line that would email a PDF of a screencap of your temporary password. (Which I couldn't see, naturally)...
My work email from google (the one I actually used) had none of these restrictions.
There is a lesson here, but no one was inclined to learn it.