07/14/2025
Despite what some news outlets have reported, modern RSA security encryption has NOT been cracked. Researchers cracked 22-bit keys, which is a far cry from the 2048-bit RSA kits actually used to encrypt your online communication.
Poor password management is a much more likely source of "getting hacked".
- Never use the same password on two different accounts, ESPECIALLY when associated with the same username or email address.
- Always enabled multi-factor authentication when available, preferably using an app that generates a code rather than a code that gets texted or emailed to you (although these are still better than nothing).
- Password length is more important than complexity. Mixed case, special characters, and numbers only improve password security if you don't use predictable patterns to do it (eg, replacing S with $, or A with @). You're better off using a simple but long password that you can remember, or using a password manager to generate long random passwords. NIST currently recommends that passwords be allowed to be 64+ character pass phrases, meaning you could use a whole sentence as your password.
To see the current advice on password security, see this article summarizing current best practice guidelines:
https://www.hipaajournal.com/nist-password-guidelines-update-2024/ #
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has updated its password security guidelines and now recommends longer passwords rather than NIST has updated its password security guidelines and no longer recommends enforcing password complexity requirements. Longer passwords are now recom...
