Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) has developed an application for password control. The development to enhance password culture is currently the only one in Russia.
One of the reasons for the information leak is too simple passwords in the programs and services used by users. Cybercriminals have long learned how to select passwords using a small dictionary of frequently used passwords or using pairs of login passwords from various databases. Users who use too passwords, such as Qwerty123! or Marina1970*, become unwitting helpers of hackers, as a result of which entire organizations become victims of attacks.
The Password Solutions software package, developed at NSTU-NETI, is capable of ensuring the information security of organizations. According to Dmitry Nechaev, a graduate student at the Department of Information Security at the Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering of NSTU-NETI, the application consists of several modules, each with its own task.
"The PS-Check password strength assessment module takes into account not only the length and presence of various characters, but also the presence of repetitions and character alternations, as well as the password content in the database of merged passwords. The PS-Scan password scanner scans an organization to identify weak passwords, and the PS-Help password module will help users come up with a strong and well—remembered password at the same time," said Dmitry Nechaev.
In addition, according to the developer, there is a PS-Manager password manager; a password generator for creating strong and well-remembered PS-Gen passwords, which also explains how passwords are formed; a PS-Cloud password database for frequent and leaked passwords; and a PS—Educate password training module, an electronic course aimed at to enhance the password culture of users.
The application is unique and was developed primarily for large companies, where information security processes have already been established and additional password control is needed. So far, the development is intended for Windows users, and in the future for Linux.
"There are no such analogues in Russia now, there used to be a foreign product, but now it has left the market. As for the modules, only PS-Check is similar to a foreign solution — it is being developed based on the topic of my dissertation. The rest of the modules are unique," Dmitry Nechaev emphasized.