A lot of people still underestimate the importance of having a secure password and make the mistake of using simple words and numbers as a password. Keep in mind that your email and social media accounts contain very personal information about you. You must have a strong password to keep your personal life personal, and not become a victim of identity theft.
Here we provide you with standards and guidelines for the creation of strong passwords, the protection of those passwords and the frequency of change.
Password requirements
Length:
Must be at least 14 characters long
Use a passphrase like a sentence, for example Coffee1_first!
Complexity:
Use alphanumerical characters for example: C0ff33_f1rst!
At least one uppercase letter (A-Z)
At least one lowercase letter (a-z)
At least one number (0-9)
At least one special character (~!@#$%^&*()_+”:?> (leaving a space is also a character but not at the end of the passphrase)
History:
The passwords are stored in a history list keeping a record of the last 10 passwords
Age:
The minimum password age is set to 30 days
Banning:
A deny list will prevent users from using password from dictionaries, repetitive or sequential characters
User responsibility
- Stellenbosch University (SU) passwords must meet the requirements outlined in the requirements section
- SU passwords must be unique and different from other personal services
- SU passwords must be changed and the request to change will be by the system
- SU passwords may not be shared
- SU passwords must never be written down
Reset options
Self-service Password Reset
OR Send an email to info@sun.ac.za or help@sun.ac.za
PLEASE NOTE: A user’s identification must be verified either in person or video conference
