WN12-AC-000008 - The built-in Windows password complexity policy must be enabled.

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Information

The use of complex passwords increases their strength against attack. The built-in Windows password complexity policy requires passwords to contain at least 3 of the 4 types of characters (numbers, upper- and lower-case letters, and special characters), as well as preventing the inclusion of user names or parts of.

Solution

Configure the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Windows Settings -> Security Settings >> Account Policies >> Password Policy >> 'Password must meet complexity requirements' to 'Enabled'.

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_MS_Windows_2012_and_2012_R2_DC_V3R3_STIG.zip

Item Details

Category: IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

References: 800-53|IA-5(1)(a), CAT|II, CCI|CCI-000192, CCI|CCI-000193, CCI|CCI-000194, CCI|CCI-001619, Rule-ID|SV-226063r794292_rule, STIG-ID|WN12-AC-000008, STIG-Legacy|SV-52863, STIG-Legacy|V-1150, Vuln-ID|V-226063

Plugin: Windows

Control ID: ed16f6fc4e01897cd1d8aa3082b3b38ac6f4a9f64461a18036ba05633222f9fa