Use Poetry to Protect Your Data: A Creative Solution to Better Passwords
Strong password security is essential for any business serious about cybersecurity. Yet, creating passwords that are both secure and easy to remember is a constant challenge. Most users either choose something simple like “Password123” or resort to writing down complex strings that they can’t possibly memorize.
But what if we told you there’s a creative—and even poetic—solution to this common problem? Enter the passpoem, a technique that lets you use poetry to protect your data.
The Password Dilemma: Security vs. Simplicity
Most users prioritize memorability over security when choosing passwords. As a result, many settle for weak passwords or reuse the same ones across multiple accounts. Unfortunately, this puts businesses at risk of data breaches, phishing attacks, and unauthorized access.
Cybersecurity researchers Marjan Ghazvininejad and Kevin Knight from the University of Southern California proposed a novel solution: generate passwords using random 60-bit strings, then translate those strings into memorable, poetic phrases.
Their method is built on a concept popularized by an XKCD comic, which suggests using random words like:
correct horse battery staple
The phrase is nonsensical, but easy to visualize. And that’s the point. When you create a mental image, your brain is more likely to retain it. Better still, these strings are exponentially harder for hackers and brute-force tools to crack.
Why Use Poetry to Protect Your Data?
Ghazvininejad and Knight take this idea a step further by recommending a poem-like structure for passwords. By formatting these random words into short, rhythmic lines, users can recall them more easily, just like a verse of a favorite poem.
Consider this example:
Quiet trees whisper soft spells
Foxes dance in silent wells
It’s random. It’s vivid. And most importantly, it’s far more secure than “Spring2024!”
According to their research:
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A 44-bit password (like in the XKCD example) might take an hour to crack.
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A 60-bit passpoem could take over a decade to breach using brute-force methods.
That’s a major upgrade in security, without sacrificing memorability.
Caution: Don’t Use Famous Poems
While it’s tempting to use a line from a published poem or a favorite quote, doing so is riskier than it seems. Well-known literary phrases can be easily indexed in dictionaries, making them vulnerable to dictionary-based attacks.
If you want to use poetry to protect your data, make sure your poem is:
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Unique
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Randomly generated (not copy-pasted)
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Not easily guessable
Alternatively, you can use a password generator that structures secure passphrases in poetic formats.
Password Management Still Matters
Even with a poetic approach, managing multiple passwords for various accounts is still a hassle. That’s where a password management system becomes essential. It stores your complex passwords securely and automatically fills them in when needed, reducing the risk of reuse or weak choices.
At Vision Computer Solutions, we help businesses adopt enterprise-grade password management tools that are:
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Secure
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User-friendly
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Scalable for teams
Ready to Rhyme Your Way to Better Cybersecurity?
Whether you decide to use a passpoem, a password manager, or both, taking password security seriously is non-negotiable in today’s threat landscape.
Use poetry to protect your data and give your team a smarter, more memorable way to stay secure. For help setting up your password management system or improving your organization’s cybersecurity practices, give us a call at (248) 349-6115.
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