SY0-301 Question #573: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is A: Increase password complexity. Increasing password complexity and length directly reduces the effectiveness of brute-force and dictionary-based cracking attacks by expanding the search space exponentially.

Question

Several employee accounts appear to have been cracked by an attacker. Which of the following should the security administrator implement to mitigate password cracking attacks? (Select TWO).

Options

AIncrease password complexity
BDeploy an IDS to capture suspicious logins
CImplement password history
DImplement monitoring of logins
EImplement password expiration
FIncrease password length

Explanation

Increasing password complexity and length directly reduces the effectiveness of brute-force and dictionary-based cracking attacks by expanding the search space exponentially.

Common mistakes.

B. An IDS can detect suspicious login attempts but does not prevent the cracking of passwords that have already been captured or hashed.
C. Password history prevents reuse of old passwords but does not make current passwords harder to crack.
D. Monitoring logins can detect attacks after the fact but does not mitigate the underlying vulnerability of weak passwords.
E. Password expiration limits the window of exploitation of a cracked password but does not make the password itself harder to crack.

Concept tested. Password strength controls against cracking attacks

Reference. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/password-must-meet-complexity-requirements

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