What is a passphrase?

Passwords are the most common way we prove our identity online. We use passwords to access our work and home computers and email, online banking services, and social media accounts. If your passwords are not strong enough, you leave systems and data vulnerable to attack.

Cybercriminals have perfected the art of guessing passwords. Think of all of the information that is protected by just your password. Compromised passwords are the leading cause of security breaches. We recommend you use a passphrase when creating a password.

When we create a password, we typically think of a single word that is significant to us. We have been taught that just adding special characters or numbers will make the password more secure, but that's not necessarily the case. A password like Bulld0gz! takes a cybercriminal approximately 3 seconds to guess.