Password composition and security: an exploratory study of user practice

John Campbell; Kay Bryant

Password composition and security: an exploratory study of user practice

John Campbell, Kay Bryant

Research output: A Conference proceeding or a Chapter in Book › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

User authentication is a vital element in ensuring the secure operation of computer-based systems. The most common control mechanism for authenticating user access to computerised information systems is the use of passwords. Password-based systems remain the predominant method of user authentication despite the many sophisticated and viable security alternatives that have emerged from research and development. However, evidence suggests that this method is often compromised by poor security practices. This paper presents the results of a survey that examines user practice in creating and using password keys. This paper reports the findings from a pilot study examining user password composition and security practices for e-mail. Despite a greater awareness of security issues, the results show that an improvement in user password management practice is required

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the fifteenth Australasian conference on Information Systems
Editors	Javen Ang, Shirlee-Ann Knight
Place of Publication	Hobart
Publisher	Association for Information Systems
Pages	220-225
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Print)	9781864876948
Publication status	Published - 2004
Externally published	Yes
Event	Fifteenth Australasian Conference on Information Systems: ACIS 2004 - Hobart, Hobart, Australia Duration: 1 Dec 2004 → 3 Dec 2004

Conference

Conference	Fifteenth Australasian Conference on Information Systems
Country/Territory	Australia
City	Hobart
Period	1/12/04 → 3/12/04

Cite this

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title = "Password composition and security: an exploratory study of user practice",

abstract = "User authentication is a vital element in ensuring the secure operation of computer-based systems. The most common control mechanism for authenticating user access to computerised information systems is the use of passwords. Password-based systems remain the predominant method of user authentication despite the many sophisticated and viable security alternatives that have emerged from research and development. However, evidence suggests that this method is often compromised by poor security practices. This paper presents the results of a survey that examines user practice in creating and using password keys. This paper reports the findings from a pilot study examining user password composition and security practices for e-mail. Despite a greater awareness of security issues, the results show that an improvement in user password management practice is required",

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year = "2004",

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editor = "Javen Ang and Shirlee-Ann Knight",

booktitle = "Proceedings of the fifteenth Australasian conference on Information Systems",

publisher = "Association for Information Systems",

address = "United States",

note = "Fifteenth Australasian Conference on Information Systems : ACIS 2004 ; Conference date: 01-12-2004 Through 03-12-2004",

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Password composition and security: an exploratory study of user practice. / Campbell, John; Bryant, Kay.
Proceedings of the fifteenth Australasian conference on Information Systems. ed. / Javen Ang; Shirlee-Ann Knight. Hobart: Association for Information Systems, 2004. p. 220-225.

Research output: A Conference proceeding or a Chapter in Book › Conference contribution › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Password composition and security: an exploratory study of user practice

AU - Campbell, John

AU - Bryant, Kay

PY - 2004

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N2 - User authentication is a vital element in ensuring the secure operation of computer-based systems. The most common control mechanism for authenticating user access to computerised information systems is the use of passwords. Password-based systems remain the predominant method of user authentication despite the many sophisticated and viable security alternatives that have emerged from research and development. However, evidence suggests that this method is often compromised by poor security practices. This paper presents the results of a survey that examines user practice in creating and using password keys. This paper reports the findings from a pilot study examining user password composition and security practices for e-mail. Despite a greater awareness of security issues, the results show that an improvement in user password management practice is required

AB - User authentication is a vital element in ensuring the secure operation of computer-based systems. The most common control mechanism for authenticating user access to computerised information systems is the use of passwords. Password-based systems remain the predominant method of user authentication despite the many sophisticated and viable security alternatives that have emerged from research and development. However, evidence suggests that this method is often compromised by poor security practices. This paper presents the results of a survey that examines user practice in creating and using password keys. This paper reports the findings from a pilot study examining user password composition and security practices for e-mail. Despite a greater awareness of security issues, the results show that an improvement in user password management practice is required

M3 - Conference contribution

SN - 9781864876948

SP - 220

EP - 225

BT - Proceedings of the fifteenth Australasian conference on Information Systems

A2 - Ang, Javen

A2 - Knight, Shirlee-Ann

PB - Association for Information Systems

CY - Hobart

T2 - Fifteenth Australasian Conference on Information Systems

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