From: Sable_Kuhns@aitis.org
To: Larry_Hunt@aitis.org
I know you already have your hands full trying to mitigate all the IT issues that have popped up, but is there anything we can do about the password system? I’ve been noticing logins to my email from different IPs that I’m used to. I’m not gonna go so far as to say I’ve been hacked, but I would like to get the password system fixed so I can change my password sometime soon.
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From: Larry_Hunt@aitis.org
To: Sable_Kuhns@aitis.org
I wish it was that easy. I don’t know what Teddy did, but pretty much the only system that works is the automatic password generator, and that one isn’t working completely correctly. It is generating passwords, but they’re all using a cipher that’s way simpler than I would prefer.
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From: Sable_Kuhns@aitis.org
To: Larry_Hunt@aitis.org
How simple of a cipher are we talking? Perhaps it would be in my best interest to have it generate me a new password?
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From: Larry_Hunt@aitis.org
To: Sable_Kuhns@aitis.org
It uses a vigenere cipher based off of the username to generate a password. I don’t think it’s even that long of a passcode to break it, I want to say 5 characters long. All it would take someone knowing one of the usernames, and the resulting password, and they should be able to work backwards for what the code would be. Personally, I’m not sure why Teddy programmed it that way, it is not secure at all.
Because it’s incredibly easy to crack, I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving you a password with it. Fortunately, the only person who has to use the new password type is Thomas Reeds, the new IT hire. While his account is easily compromisable, I have also made a point to tell him not to put any personal information there, only use it for basic work.
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From: Sable_Kuhns@aitis.org
To: Larry_Hunt@aitis.org
I understand, I hope we’re able to get some of these systems fixed soon.