Password Expiration Extension and Account Lock-Out Changes

Posted January 19, 2017 by Academic and Institutional Technology
Tags: Security

Password Expiration Extension and Account Lock-Out Changes

Effective Date: January 30, 2017

On January 30, the new password and account security settings announced in December 2016 will take effect for faculty and staff network accounts. Passwords will expire every year rather than every six months, and 10 failed login attempts will lock your account for 30 minutes.

Rationale

These settings balance ease-of-use and good security practices.

  • Increasing the amount of time before you have to change your password makes it easier to remember your password and choose a unique password each time.
  • Locking your account after 10 failed login attempts will make it harder for someone to access your data by trying lots of different passwords.

Impact on College Community

On January 30, new password and account security settings will take effect.

  • Passwords will expire after one year (365 days) rather than six months (180 days). Your password will expire 365 days after the last time you changed your password. For example, if you last changed your password in August 2016, it will expire in August 2017 rather than February 2017.
  • Your account will be locked for 30 minutes after 10 failed login attempts. If you are accidentally locked out of your account, it will unlock after 30 minutes, or you can contact us to unlock it for you.

If you have any questions, please contact Academic and Institutional Technology at 630.752.4357 (HELP) or by email at ait.service.desk@wheaton.edu.