Members who create a new password for use with Online Access HD to check account balances or pay bills will soon notice a change. On Wednesday, May 29, Hanscom FCU is changing the requirements for creating a password. This is part of our continuing effort to strengthen online security for our members.
Right now, our existing password requirement is one that's six to 30 characters in length and includes letters and at least one number.
On May 29th, we're increasing the minimum password length to 10 characters (maximum 50) and requiring at least one uppercase letter in addition to letters and at least one digit. We are also allowing special characters, except for < and >, although they're not part of the new password requirement.
Why is Hanscom Federal Credit Union requiring this change? I asked our assistant vice president of digital strategy, Scott Heinz, and he said, "We want to come to a higher standard of security, and make our password requirement more sophisticated to make it difficult for fraudsters. Right now, the industry standard on password length is eight characters. But we've been hearing industry talk about increasing the standard to 10 characters, so we decided to get ahead of that."
While members who currently use Hanscom FCU's Online Access are not required to change their passwords to adhere to these new standards, this announcement is an opportunity to make the change and increase password strength.
"The new requirements will be clearly explained on the password change page," said Heinz. "You'll get instant feedback if your password is meeting the requirements, which will be in red. Once they're no longer red, you'll know you're good."
If you still have questions or a challenge changing your password, please contact Hanscom FCU's Member Relations at 800-656-4328.
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