In October, the University of South Alabama Office of Information Security (InfoSec) will recognize and participate in National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). NCSAM is a month out of the year in which the cybersecurity professional community comes together to focus on cybersecurity and encourage others to exercise proper cyber hygiene. The Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance have sponsored NCSAM since its inception in 2004.
From mobile to connected home devices, technology is becoming more intertwined with our lives everyday. And while the evolution of technology is moving at the speed of sound, cybercriminals are working just as hard to find ways to compromise technology and disrupt personal and business life. Cybersecurity Awareness Month aims to highlight some of the emerging challenges that exist in the world of cybersecurity today and provide straightforward actionable guidance that anyone can follow to create a safe and secure digital world for themselves and their loved ones.
For 2025, USA InfoSec will focus on the implementation and importance of two factor authentication. This is an important layer of security that can be enabled on most online accounts with minimal effort. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security process that requires two different forms of verification before granting access to an account or system. It typically involves something you know (like a password) and something you have (like a smartphone or security token).
Throughout the month of October, the InfoSec team will visit various sites on campus between the hours of 11am and 1pm, to include Shelby Hall, Allied Health, and the USA Student Center. During these events, the InfoSec team will hand out free t-shirts that reflect this year’s theme, and will encourage our students and employees to enroll themselves in Multi Factor Authentication.
For more information about Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2025 and how to participate in a wide variety of activities, visit staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/. You can also follow and use the official hashtag #SecureOurWorld or last year’s hashtag #BeCyberSmart on social media throughout the month.
5 Phishing Red Flags
- Request for passwords
- Suspicious links or attachments
- Sense of urgency
- Poor grammar
- Unusual addresses
Time It Takes a Hacker to Brute Force Your Password in 2025
Hardware: 12 x RTX 5090 | Password hash: bcrypt(10)
| Number of Characters | Number Only | Lowercase Letters | Upper and Lower Case Letters | Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters | Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters, Symbols |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly |
| 5 | Instantly | Instantly | 57 minutes | 2 hours | 4 hours |
| 6 | Instantly | 46 minutes | 2 days | 6 Days | 2 weeks |
| 7 | Instantly | 20 hours | 4 months | 1 year | 2 years |
| 8 | Instantly | 3 weeks | 15 years | 62 years | 164 years |
| 9 | 2 hours | 2 years | 791 years | 3k years | 11k years |
| 10 | 1 day | 40 years | 41k years | 238k years | 803k years |
| 11 | 1 week | 1k years | 2m years | 14m years | 56m years |
| 12 | 3 months | 27k years | 111m years | 917m years | 3bn years |
| 13 | 3 years | 705k years | 5bn years | 56bn years | 275bn years |
| 14 | 28 years | 18m years | 300bn years | 3tn years | 19tn years |
| 15 | 284 years | 477m years | 15tn years | 218tn years | 1qd years |
| 16 | 2k years | 12bn years | 812tn years | 13qd years | 94qd years |
| 17 | 28k years | 322bn years | 42qd years | 840qd years | 6qn years |
| 18 | 284k years | 8tn years | 2qn years | 52qn years | 463qn years |