On May 30, 2019, the University will implement a change to the existing password requirements. Your new SMU password will now have a minimum length of 12 characters and will expire after 365 days versus the current 180 days. The password complexity requirement will not be changing, meaning your password must still have a combination of 3 of the following character types:
- upper case letter
- lower case letter
- numbers
- symbols
If you are currently using a password that is less than 12 characters, we encourage you to change it as soon as possible using the Password Reset Tool at smu.edu/password. We recommend staying away from common words like “password,” “Mustang,” “SMU,” or “God,” that could be easily hacked. Security experts have found eight character passwords are now relatively easy to crack by hackers.
We realize there is a delicate balance between convenience and security when it comes to passwords. By lengthening the password expiration, it reduces the impact of password management and updates for the campus community. However, without the longer character limit, the account passwords are more susceptible to compromise. Therefore, both changes are being made in tandem on May 30, 2019.
Update May 28, 2019: Added recommendation against using common words.
