With the start of the new semester, IT has made the decision to require all IWU students, faculty and staff to change their passwords.
Michael Madl, the chief information security officer, said that this change has been planned for a while.
“It’s been in the works for probably 10 months,” Madl said. “The reason why it took so long to actually initiate it is because we wanted to try to do everything we can so it doesn’t present so much undue burden onto the community.”
Madl said that this change comes from the increased number of cyber-attacks and account hacks that have been spreading across campus.
“You guys have a lot of information, financial information through cell service and your records,” Madl said. “We’ve had students get hacked, and then those accounts being used for phishing campaigns.”
This password change will require students to use a twelve-character password instead of the simple eight-character password system the school currently uses.
Emma Hogue, an IT student worker, said that the mandatory password change surprised her.
“I honestly didn’t know that was going to happen,” Hogue said. “I’m not for sure about it because it is hard for some people to memorize new passwords.”
Hogue said that even though she is a little concerned about having to remember a new password, she does think that the password change will be good for the community.
Madl said that there are many good resources and tips for students to use if they do not know what to make their password.
“Really the best way to create a password to remember, just take three words that don’t tie together, just three different words, and then add in an uppercase, a lowercase letter, and a number,” he said.
Gracee Ayers, a freshman, said the password change does not bother her and is willing to take the time to change it.
“I really don’t mind the password change because I can now make a password I can remember,” Ayers said. “I still can’t remember my current password, so now that I can make my own password, it’ll be easier to login into everything.”
All students need to have their password changed by March 12 and all employees need their password changed by March 28.
For more information about the password changes, the information can be found at the security office page on the portal.
