Penn State recently began an initiative that will require all those who have Penn State Access Accounts to change their passwords annually. The new password change requirement has been instituted to increase the personal security of Penn State community members and to help protect business, research and academic resources throughout the University.
"All individuals who currently have a Penn State Access Account will need to ensure that they change their password at least once every 365 days under this new plan," explained Kevin Morooney, Penn State's newly appointed vice provost for Information Technology. "It's important to change your password often, and it's critical for the University to ensure the greatest security in the community environment."
According to Morooney, although the new yearly cycle may take some getting used to, Penn State will reap significant benefits by participating in the password change initiative. "Beyond the immediate security benefits, making this change will help the University meet guidelines of the federal government's new eAuthentication Initiative (EAI)," he said. "Meeting this requirement will put Penn State in a favorable position in the future as more and more services move into a delivery model that will require strong trust among providers of digital resources -- whether it's the government or the private sector."
As part of the new plan, the University has set up a "countdown" deadline of April 2, 2007, at which time all Penn State Access Account passwords will expire, if they have not been changed between Aug. 1, 2006 and April 1, 2007.
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