@kevin Some time ago NIST, which gov follows, made noises about redoing their always bad and long obsolete password recommendations. I don’t know if they ever got out. Maybe they would have embarrassed too many.

In my fed days I was told we must memorize all our passwords, never write them down, and change them monthly ….

@mcdanlj @kevin

Good to know! When I last looked they seemed stuck in some pre-release state.

@jgordon @kevin 2017, with small updates in 2020. Search for "nist password requirements" finds it and related documents.

https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/sp800-63b.html

5.1.1.2 Memorized Secret Verifiers
...
When processing requests to establish and change memorized secrets, verifiers SHALL compare the prospective secrets against a list that contains values known to be commonly-used, expected, or compromised. For example, the list MAY include, but is not limited to:

• Passwords obtained from previous breach corpuses.
• Dictionary words.
• Repetitive or sequential characters (e.g. ‘aaaaaa’, ‘1234abcd’).
• Context-specific words, such as the name of the service, the username, and derivatives thereof.If the chosen secret is found in the list, the CSP or verifier SHALL advise the subscriber that they need to select a different secret, SHALL provide the reason for rejection, and SHALL require the subscriber to choose a different value.

...

Verifiers SHOULD NOT impose other composition rules (e.g., requiring mixtures of different character types or prohibiting consecutively repeated characters) for memorized secrets. Verifiers SHOULD NOT require memorized secrets to be changed arbitrarily (e.g., periodically). However, verifiers SHALL force a change if there is evidence of compromise of the authenticator.

Verifiers SHOULD permit claimants to use “paste” functionality when entering a memorized secret. This facilitates the use of password managers, which are widely used and in many cases increase the likelihood that users will choose stronger memorized secrets.