Organizational Password Policy

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of password policy. It specifically identifies some basic elements of password policy, password and password policy life cycles, essence of password policy within an organization, password policy usability considerations, implementation/enforcement of password policies within organizations, the importance of access control in relation to password policy and computer security, and future trends in password policy are set forth. Generally, the absence of a password policy leaves a large void in any organization‘s ability to operate effectively and maintain business continuity, and allows for ad-hoc decisions to be made by unauthorized personnel.