The network device must enforce a minimum 15-character password length.

Password complexity, or strength, is a measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting attempts at guessing and brute-force attacks. Password length is one factor of several that helps to determine strength and how long it takes to crack a password. The shorter the password, the lower the number of possible combinations that must be tested before the password is compromised. Use of more characters in a password helps to increase exponentially the time and/or resources required to compromise the password.

Determine if the network device or its associated authentication server enforces a minimum 15-character password length. This requirement may be verified by demonstration or configuration review. If the network device or its associated authentication server does not enforce a minimum 15-character password length, this is a finding.

Configure the network device or its associated authentication server to enforce a minimum 15-character password length.