Which of the following is an effective countermeasure against password cracking?

The correct answer is A. Using long, complex passwords. Long, complex passwords are effective against cracking because they exponentially increase the number of possible combinations an attacker must try, making brute-force and dictionary attacks computationally infeasible. Option B is wrong because reusing passwords means a single br

Attacks and Countermeasures

Question

Options

AUsing long, complex passwords
BUsing the same password across systems
CDisabling account lockout policies
DStoring passwords in plaintext

How the community answered

(25 responses)

A
88% (22)
B
4% (1)
C
8% (2)

Explanation

Long, complex passwords are effective against cracking because they exponentially increase the number of possible combinations an attacker must try, making brute-force and dictionary attacks computationally infeasible. Option B is wrong because reusing passwords means a single breach compromises all accounts - it amplifies risk rather than reducing it. Option C is wrong because disabling account lockout removes a key defense that stops automated cracking attempts by locking out repeated failures. Option D is the worst practice possible - plaintext storage means any database exposure instantly exposes every credential with zero effort required to crack them.

Memory tip: Think of a password as a combination lock - more dials (length) and more symbols per dial (complexity) = more combinations = harder to crack. The other options all remove locks or share the combination.

Topics

#password_security#password_cracking#authentication#access_control

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