After a recent penetration test, a company has a finding regarding the use of dictionary and seasonal passwords by its employees. Which of the following is the BEST control to remediate the use of…

The correct answer is C. Configure password filters. Password filters (such as Windows password filter DLLs or PAM modules on Linux) can be configured to programmatically reject passwords that match dictionary words, common terms, seasons, sports teams, or other predictable patterns at the time of password creation or reset. This…

Vulnerability discovery and analysis

Question

After a recent penetration test, a company has a finding regarding the use of dictionary and seasonal passwords by its employees. Which of the following is the BEST control to remediate the use of common dictionary terms?

Options

AExpand the password length from seven to 14 characters
BImplement password history restrictions
CConfigure password filters
DDisable the accounts after five incorrect attempts
EDecrease the password expiration window

How the community answered

(23 responses)

A
13% (3)
C
74% (17)
D
4% (1)
E
9% (2)

Explanation

Password filters (such as Windows password filter DLLs or PAM modules on Linux) can be configured to programmatically reject passwords that match dictionary words, common terms, seasons, sports teams, or other predictable patterns at the time of password creation or reset. This directly addresses the root cause. Expanding password length (A) encourages longer passwords but does not prevent 'Summer2024!' from being valid. Password history (B) prevents reuse but not new dictionary-based passwords. Account lockout (D) addresses brute-force attacks, not weak password selection. Reducing expiration windows (E) may actually encourage weaker passwords chosen quickly.

Topics

#Password security#Password policies#Vulnerability remediation#Security controls

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Full PT0-002 Practice