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xkcd

3 articles · Page 1 of 1
dbaplus Community
dbaplus Community
Sep 12, 2026 · Information Security

Bill Burr's 2003 Password Rules Were Wrong: He Apologized in 2017

The article traces mandatory complex password rules to Bill Burr's 2003 NIST guide based on a 1980s paper, reveals how they create predictable patterns, cites xkcd's entropy comparison, and notes Burr's 2017 regret and NIST's updated guidelines, yet many sites still enforce the outdated rules.

AuthenticationBill BurrNIST
0 likes · 7 min read
Bill Burr's 2003 Password Rules Were Wrong: He Apologized in 2017
ITPUB
ITPUB
Aug 13, 2026 · Information Security

The NIST Official Who Enforced Special Characters in Passwords Has Apologized

The article traces the origin of the ubiquitous NIST password rule requiring uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters to an eight‑page 2003 guideline authored by Bill Burr, examines why the rule fails for human‑chosen passwords, and explains how NIST later rescinded it after the author expressed regret.

AuthenticationNISTinformation security
0 likes · 6 min read
The NIST Official Who Enforced Special Characters in Passwords Has Apologized
IT Services Circle
IT Services Circle
Jun 25, 2026 · Information Security

The NIST Official Who Mandated Special Characters in Passwords Has Apologized

The article traces the 2003 NIST password guideline that forced mixed‑case, numbers and symbols, shows how billions followed the same predictable patterns, presents real‑world leak analysis and the famous xkcd comparison, and explains why the rule was revised in 2017 yet still lingers.

NISTinformation securitypassphrase
0 likes · 6 min read
The NIST Official Who Mandated Special Characters in Passwords Has Apologized