CompTIA Security+ Question E-86

An internal auditing team would like to strengthen the password policy to support special characters. Which of the following types of password controls would achieve this goal?

A. Add reverse encryption
B. Password complexity
C. Increase password length
D. Allow single sign on

Answer: B

Explanation:
Generally, the minimum password length is considered to be 8 upper and lowercase characters. The use of at least one non-alpha character like punctuation, special characters, or numbers, combined with the password length produces strong passwords. Strong passwords are produced by the combination of a password’s length and complexity.

CompTIA Security+ Question D-11

Several employee accounts appear to have been cracked by an attacker. Which of the following should the security administrator implement to mitigate password cracking attacks? (Select TWO).

A. Increase password complexity
B. Deploy an IDS to capture suspicious logins
C. Implement password history
D. Implement monitoring of logins
E. Implement password expiration
F. Increase password length

Answer: A,F

Explanation:
The more difficult a password is the more difficult it is to be cracked by an attacker. By increasing the password complexity you make it more difficult. Passwords that are too short can easily be cracked. The more characters used in a password, combined with the increased complexity will mitigate password cracking attacks.