Passwords have become an integral part of our everyday lives, keeping our money, our data and our secrets safe. But what makes a good one, or a bad one for that matter? Click, friend, and enter.

In this podcast, we look at how hackers exploit passwords and analyse the common themes that make them easy to hack. We also consider whether having password restrictions (e.g. mandating password length or character requirements) may actually be doing more harm than good. Finally, we explore how passwords and security might evolve in the future as authentication technologies advance.

A few things we mentioned in this podcast:

- World’s worst passwords
- Six reasons biometrics are bad authenticators
- Have I been pwned
- Breached websites
- Why 2FA SMS is a bad idea
- PIN number analysis
- Password Cracking
- Encouraging users to improve password security and memorability
- Password Managers
- XKCD

Find more Cognitive Engineering episodes here.

Image: Santeri Viinamäki via Wikimedia Commons