Account Security Policy

Passwords are a critical aspect of computer security. A weak or compromised password can result in unauthorized access to our most sensitive data and/or exploitation of our resources. All staff, including contractors and vendors with access to The Diocese of Paterson systems, are responsible for taking the appropriate steps, as outlined below, to select and secure their passwords.

The purpose of this policy is to establish a standard for the secure use and protection of all work related passwords.

The scope of this policy includes all personnel who have or are responsible for an account (or any form of access that supports or requires a password) on any system that resides at any of the Diocese of Paterson’s facilities, has access diocesan network, or stores any non-public Diocese of Paterson information.

• 4.1 Password Creation and Use
  • 4.1.1 All user-level and system-level passwords must conform to the following
    • Passwords must be a minimum of 12 characters in length but more is always better
    • Passwords must contain capital and lowercase letters as well as numbers and symbols
    • Users are encouraged to use nonsensical sentences as passwords such as:
    • My_Dog_Can_Count_to_12_Underwater!
    • Why_Can_Accountants_Grow_3_Toes?
    • Users may also make patterns with their keyboard
    • VFR$%Y&*UHGV
    • Looks like a heart when drawn
    • Password generators may also be used only in conjunction with password managers as they are too complex to be memorized
  • 4.1.2 Users must use a separate, unique password for each of their work related accounts. Users may not use any work related passwords for their own, personal accounts.
  • 4.1.3 Staff are allowed to use authorized, approved password managers to securely store and manage all their work related passwords.
  • 4.1.4 User accounts that have system-level privileges granted through group memberships or programs such as sudo must have a unique password from all other accounts held by that user to access system-level privileges. In addition, it is highly recommended that some form of multi-factor authentication is used for any privileged accounts.
  • 4.1.5 Passwords must not have information directly tied to the User
  • 4.1.6 Examples include but are not limited to: Username, SSN, nickname, relative’s names, birth date, pet name, etc.
• 4.2 Password Change
  • 4.2.1 Passwords should be changed only when there is reason to believe a password has been compromised or fails to meet our Password Creation Requirements. We do not recommend the use or setting of regular password expiration.
• 4.3 Password Protection
  • 4.3.1 Personal passwords must not be shared with anyone, including supervisors and coworkers. All passwords are to be treated as sensitive, confidential Diocese of Paterson information. Organizational information security recognizes that legacy applications do not support proxy systems in place.
  • 4.3.2 Passwords must not be inserted into email messages or other forms of electronic communication, nor revealed over the phone to anyone.
  • 4.3.3 Passwords may be stored only in password managers authorized by the organization.
  • 4.3.4 Do not use the “Remember Password” feature of applications (for example, web browsers).
  • 4.3.5 Any individual suspecting that their password may have been compromised must report the incident and change all relevant passwords.
  • 4.3.6 Passwords that are written down should be stored in a secure place. Ideally not in view of the public.
• 4.4 Application Development
  Application developers must ensure that their programs contain the following security precautions:
  • 4.4.1 Applications must support authentication of individual users, not groups.
  • 4.4.2 Applications must not store passwords in clear text or in any easily reversible form.
  • 4.4.3 Applications must not transmit passwords in clear text over the network.
  • 4.4.4 Applications must provide for some sort of role management, such that one user can take over the functions of another without having to know the other’s password.
• 4.5 Multi-Factor Authentication
  • 4.5.1 Multi-factor authentication is Mandatory wherever possible and should be used whenever possible, including personal accounts. "The preference for our diocese is text message Multi-Factor Authentication" because of the situation that occurred within Saint Joseph
• 4.6 Diocesan Email Accounts
  • All email accounts created for use for work in The DIocese of Paterson are meant solely for work purposes. The accounts created for the Diocese or by the diocese are the property of the diocese of paterson.
    • This includes email addresses provided to employees, volunteers, contractors, and any other individuals representing the Diocese (including all domain based accounts, and other third party accounts like aol, google, or yahoo operating for use of our location). Users are reminded that these email accounts are to be used exclusively for official diocesan purposes and should not be used for personal or unauthorized reasons.

• 5.1 Compliance Measurement
  The DoP Technology team may verify compliance to this Standard through various methods, including but not limited to, business tool reports, internal and external audits, and feedback to the Standard owner.
• 5.2 Exceptions
  All devices should be compliant with cyber insurance standards and local/federal governance standards. Any exception/outliers should be approved by the DoP Technology team in advance.
• 5.3 Non-Compliance
  An employee found to have violated this Standard may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.