Information Technology

Mainframe Account Users: New Minimum Password Length Takes Effect This Month

Beginning Tuesday, September 25, 2007, Information Technology will require users with mainframe accounts to increase their password to a minimum length of seven characters. This change is to further secure access to Postal Service™ systems and protect our users. Your password still must be strong, which means the password must be hard to guess.

Mainframe users, you can change your password to the new minimum standard now, or wait for your current pass­word to expire. Whichever you choose, you can use the following requirements to choose your new password:

What to do when you choose your password

Make your password:

• At least seven characters in length.
• Easy to remember but hard to guess.

What not to do when you choose your password

Do not make your password:

• Your name, family members’ names, birth date, or other easily discovered personal information (e.g., license plate, phone number, or pet name).
• A Postal Service term or acronym.
• A single word that appears in an English or a foreign language dictionary.
• Your logon ID.
• An organization, vendor product name, or nick name.
• The name of an automobile, motorcycle, boat, or sports team.
• The same characters or digits, or other commonly used or easily guessed formats.
• A password that would fail the “what not to do when you choose your password” requirements if the password was reversed.
• A password used for at least five generations after it was first used.

— Corporate Information Security,
Information Technology, 8-30-07