Commendable: Texas A&M University Forces 96,000 Users to Change Passwords After Attempted Breach

The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that last Wednesday (February 28th), Texas A&M University forced 96,000 computer system users to change their passwords.  The University took action when a monitoring system detected someone attempting to access the computer server files containing the encrypted passwords for university users.

Texas A&M University's quick action to force 96,000 users to change their passwords is commendable.  As a former Chief Information Security Officer, I know its not always easy for those in leadership and responsibility for information security to take such bold actions. 

Take-away lesson:   Computer and information security starts with basic proactive steps we can all take.  Have you changed your passwords recently?  Have you used strong passwords for your on-line banking, e-mail, and websites you frequent?  For tips on creating, using, and managing effective passwords please see the following sites:

National Cyber Security Alliance
http://www.staysafeonline.org/practices/five.html

Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/privacy/password.mspx

For more details on this news story see:

Texas A&M University
http://cis.tamu.edu/netid/

KTRK TV - Houston (ABC Affiliate)
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=state&id=5082936