Password Complexity Configuration on the Cisco WAP121 and WAP321 Access Points

Objective

An increase in password complexity decreases the risk of a security breach. Hackers can usually crack a password that is less than 8 characters in length in a few hours. Hence it is vital that you use long passwords with a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols.

This article explains the password complexity configuration on the WAP121 and WAP321 access points.

Applicable Devices

• WAP121
• WAP321

Software Version

• 1.0.3.4

Password Complexity Configuration

Step 1. Log in to the web configuration utility and choose System Security > Password Complexity. The Password Complexity page opens:

Step 2. Check Enable in the Password Complexity field to enable password complexity.

Step 3. Choose the appropriate minimum number of character classes from the Password Minimum Character Class drop-down list. Uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and the special characters available on a standard keyboard are the four possible character classes.

Step 4. (Optional) Check Enable in the Password Different From Current field to require you to enter a different password when the current password expires. If disabled, you can reenter the same password which you used earlier.

Step 5. Enter the maximum number of characters for a password in the Maximum Password Length field. The range is from 64 to 80.

Step 6. Enter the minimum number of characters that a password can have in the Minimum Password Length field. The range is from 0 to 32.

Step 7. (Optional) Check Enable in the Password Aging Support field in order for the password to expire after a certain time.

Step 8. If you enabled support for password aging in the previous step, enter the number of days until a password expires in the Password Aging Time field. The range is from 1 to 365 days.

Step 9. Click Save to save the settings.