The growing use of graphics cards as surrogate supercomputers could spell trouble for users of short passwords.
Researchers say the growing number of processors on graphics cards will soon make it trivial for them to crack short passwords.
A password of seven characters or less will soon be "hopelessly inadequate" they claim.
The researchers suggest passwords should be at least 12 characters long to be safe.
Brute force
A team led by Richard Boyd from the Georgia Tech Research Institute has been investigating what effect the number-crunching power of modern graphics cards could have on the crackability of passwords.
Many graphics cards employ hundreds of so-called stream processors working in parallel to render images. Many scientists now use the basic arithmetical properties of these processors to help crunch through data generated during experiments.
The number crunching abilities of graphics cards are now comparable to the multi-million dollar supercomputers built about a decade ago, said Mr Boyd.
The parallel processing systems inside graphics cards are very good at carrying out so-called "brute force" attacks that effectively try every possible combination of letters and numbers until the right one is found.
Longer passwords take longer to crack and offer better protection, say the researchers.
"Right now we can confidently say that a seven-character password is hopelessly inadequate," said Mr Boyd, "and as GPU power continues to go up every year, the threat will increase."
A better alternative, he suggested, would be a 12-character combination of upper and lower case letters, symbols and digits.
Ultimately, suggest the researchers, users may be forced to rely on whole sentences that are a mix of different sorts of characters to ensure no-one else can guess their password and get at online services.
Source: BBC
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Barcelona B extend Abdul Aziz Issah’s loan for 2025/2026 Season
11 minutes -
Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76, Sky News reports
12 minutes -
Forestry Commission responds to Sokoban wood sellers’ harassment claims
13 minutes -
Government urges legal counsels to accelerate resolution of Chieftaincy disputes
27 minutes -
Education: GQAA calls for an end to punishing students for using AI
27 minutes -
Unlike NPP, the NDC gov’t is taking heed of my reports on galamsey though the menace continues – Erastus Asare Donkor
30 minutes -
AT CEO urges students to embrace AI at TEDxUCC Career and Skill Summit
33 minutes -
Anlo Youth Council welcomes Blekusu Sea Defence Phase II but warns of looming danger on unprotected coastal stretch
36 minutes -
School under siege – Why cybersecurity must be a top priority in Ghanaian classrooms
40 minutes -
Police arrest Nigerian suspect in armed robbery attack at Avenor
46 minutes -
Volta NDC Chair: Mahama’s fast-track projects signal real change for the region
48 minutes -
Sakumono Ramsar site demolition Phase II met with fierce resistance from residents
48 minutes -
Blekusu Sea Defence Phase II: Council of State rep says project marks turning point for Volta’s coastline
52 minutes -
CARISCA 2025 reimagines Africa’s supply chains for sustainability
1 hour -
Ejisu MP calls on government to fix bad roads
1 hour