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7-character password “hopelessly inadequate” - 17/08/2010
The growing availability of high-end graphics cards means that it is easier for hackers to crack basic passwords, new research has suggested.
The Georgia Tech Research Institute said that it has been using common graphic processing units (GPUs) to test the integrity of typical passwords. It concluded that the typical seven character password is “hopelessly inadequate” as the intelligence of graphics units improves.
Instead of just being able to process sophisticated computer games, graphics processing units have become increasingly adept at problem solving as their power has increased. Many units are now comparable to multi-million pound supercomputers built a decade ago, the Institute said.
Joshua Davis, a research assistant at Georgia Tech, said that security may be improved by increasing the number of characters in a password:
"Length is a major factor in protecting against brute forcing a password. A computer keyboard contains 95 characters, and every time you add another character, your protection goes up exponentially, by 95 times.”
A 12-character password, with a combination of upper and lower case letters, symbols and digits, was recommended as a much safer alternative to the frequently-used 7-character password.