Passwords Have Changed: teacher key

Staying Safe Online, grade 9 edition, written for 9th grade. The old password rules are giving way to long passphrases, managers and passkeys. See what current guidance says, how updates and encryption protect you, and what to do when something goes wrong.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What does password guidance from NIST say about forcing regular password changes?
   • Services should force them
   • Services should not force them (answer)
   • They are required monthly
2. What can a passkey replace?
   • A password (answer)
   • A phone
   • A browser
3. Why is your email password especially important?
   • It is the shortest
   • It is shared with friends
   • An email account can be used to reset the passwords of your other accounts (answer)
4. Where should you download updates from?
   • A link in an email
   • Trusted vendor sites (answer)
   • Any pop-up
5. What does HTTPS do?
   • Encrypts data passing between your browser and a website (answer)
   • Deletes cookies
   • Makes Wi-Fi free
6. If you gave your password to a scammer, what should you do?
   • Change it on every account that uses the same password (answer)
   • Wait a week
   • Post about it

Words

• passkeys: fingerprint-style logins
• encrypts: scrambles data
• compromised: broken into
• vendor: seller