Access Control
& Security Systems

Nearly 75 percent of respondents in a recent Rainbow Technologies survey require end-users to change passwords every 13 weeks. With password changes comes difficulty to remember them, and the survey indicates that 64 percent of end-users have written down their password at least once.

"Once an end user writes down the password, the potential for a breach of business-critical data and applications jumps considerably," says Jeff Laubhan, senior product marketing manager for Rainbow Technologies. "Look around any office, and you'll find sticky notes on or near monitors or attached to the underside of the keyboard. The survey says companies are concerned enough about securing their systems to deploy user names and passwords, but also face the challenge all companies do -- what is the balance between a robust password policy and one that drives people over the edge to write it down?

"Security is only as strong as the weakest link, which is usually a password," he continues. "You can have the most complicated security system entailing encryption, VPN, secure vaults and more, but it can all be broken with a weak or written down password."

This month in Access Control

• Targeting The Customer
• Electronic Pedigrees
• One Hero Among Many
• Who? What? When? Where? Why?
• More from September's issue