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Open AccessJournal Article

Foiling the cracker: A survey of, and improvements to, password security

Dan Klein
- 01 Mar 1992 - 
- Vol. 17, Iss: 3
TLDR
Some of the problems of current password security are outlined by demonstrating the ease by which individual accounts may be broken, and one solution to this point of system vulnerability, a proactive password checker is proposed.
Abstract
With the rapid burgeoning of national and international networks, the question of system security has become one of growing importance. High speed inter-machine communication and even higher speed computational processors have made the threats of system {open_quotes}crackers,{close_quotes} data theft, and data corruption very real. This paper outlines some of the problems of current password security by demonstrating the ease by which individual accounts may be broken. Various techniques used by crackers are outlined, and finally one solution to this point of system vulnerability, a proactive password checker, is proposed. 11 refs., 2 tabs.

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Citations
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References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Password security: a case history

TL;DR: The present design of the password security scheme was the result of countering observed attempts to penetrate the system and is a compromise between extreme security and ease of use.
Journal ArticleDOI

The internet worm program: an analysis

TL;DR: The paper contains a review of the security flaws exploited by the worm program, and gives some recommendations on how to eliminate or mitigate their future use.
Book ChapterDOI

UNIX Password Security - Ten Years Later

TL;DR: It is concluded that the single most important step that can be taken to improve password security is to increase password entropy.
Journal ArticleDOI

The UNIX system UNIX operating system security

TL;DR: Some of the security hazards of the UNIX™ operating system are discussed, and ways to protect against them are suggested, in the hope that an educated community of users will lead to a level of protection that is stronger, but far more importantly, that represents a reasonable and thoughtful balance between security and ease of use of the system.
Journal ArticleDOI

Passwords in use in a university timesharing environment

TL;DR: One part of the worm program attempted to break user passwords using a mini-dictionary of 432 words it contained, which raised several important questions: Where did the list come from?