As a student at Keene State College, having a secure way to protect your online identity can play a vital role in education.
Net IDs are a way to provide this security, and this semester IT is requiring every student to change their password.
Chief Information Officer at IT Laura Seraichick said that the changing of passwords is a way to ensure protection online. “To protect student resources and their information, it’s the best practice,” Seraichick said.
Students have said that they have mixed feelings about the new requirement.
First-year Abby Glaser said that she uses the same password for multiple accounts, and doesn’t like the idea of having a new one. “I just got so used to having the same password that I don’t want to have to change it,” Glaser said.
Additionally, junior Nicole Mowat said that she also disagrees with this practice.
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“I don’t like it. It’s more of a chance of people forgetting their passwords,” Mowat said.
On the other hand, senior Dimitrios Kapoukranidis said that while he finds this practice a bit irritating, he understands why we should change our passwords. “I think it’s probably more of a liability issue if anything, in case there is a security problem,” Kapoukranidis said.
Regarding changing her password, senior Megan Pereira said that she thinks the requirement is associated with a security issue. “It must have something to do with a security breach of some sort. I don’t know why for any other reason they’d have us do it,” Pereira said.
Further, senior Cara Gerardi said that she also believes security is the reasoning behind the requirement. “I figured it had something to do with security being compromised for whatever reason, a virus or something maybe going on,” Gerardi said.
However, Seraichick said that the requirement for students, faculty and staff to change their Net ID passwords is more of a preventative action rather than an issue with security. “These are all sort of proactive things that you just do in general…everybody that has an account has an obligation to keep it secure,” Seraichick said.
According to Seraichick, students will receive an email prompting them to change their password, giving them a date when their password will expire. After the password expires, students will no longer be able to use the automated service online to change their password and will only be able to do it through IT.
Seraichick continued that the password expiration dates will be done in phases. “We’re doing it as a phase approach, we didn’t expire all of our student passwords at once,” Seraichick said. These phases will happen from now until March, so that every student will have his or her password changed before spring break, according to Seraichick.
While changing your Net ID password has always been an option for students, this is the first year that it has been required. “We’re forcing students to do it. You can’t decide to say no…We’re forcing them to change it, and we’re forcing it to be a complex and strong password,” Seraichick said. “You should have strong, complex passwords that you change at least twice a year.”
Students will continue to receive emails alerting them to when their password will expire through March. According to Seraichick, students will be required to change their password once every six months from here on out.
Devon can be contacted at droberts@kscequinox.com
