Passphrases Are The New Security Passwords

Let’s be honest — security passwords are a pain. They’re too short to be secure and too long to remember. Having to look up your password in your little black book (what, just me!) is annoying.

Siiigh.

We’ve all been there.

Every — working — day.

I think we can all agree that security passwords are frustrating. So is having to reset a colleague’s passwords because they’ve been locked out of their computer. Again.

At the same time, we know how important it is to create a secure password. Yet their inherent weaknesses make them one of the biggest security liabilities in modern business environments.

And herein lies the dilemma for IT security managers.

How can we set safe security passwords that are less forgettable and frustrating?

Passphrases.

I think we can also agree that giving passphrases a go is worth a shot.

Why Passwords Are Failing Us

Any old password was fine when hackers were teenagers in basements. But today, we’re dealing with AI-driven brute-force attacks that can crack an eight-character password faster than you can say “forgot my password.”

According to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, more than 80% of data breaches involve weak or stolen passwords.

It’s hard to believe that people are still using weak passwords, but according to a 2025 article in Forbes, 12345 is still a thing.

[I slap my hand to my forehead in dramatic, exasperated fashion. Seriously, I could be in Eastenders.]

We then moved on to creating passwords that were easier to remember, but also easy for algorithms to crack. J@ck1315Ac3

Do you see the problem with this picture?

Passphrases are the next evolution of security passwords.

What is a Passphrase?

A passphrase flips the script. Instead of a jumble of letters and symbols, it’s a short sentence or string of words that’s easy for you to remember but ridiculously hard for a hacker to crack.

This is the key. Easy to remember, hard to crack.

The other trick is to dream up a random phrase, and not a cliche.

Something along these lines:

“MonkeysLoveNailPolish!”

The next step is to type the phrase using the full quota of upper and lower case, numbers and symbols. Something that you will remember, but an algorithm will never guess. Like this.

M0nk3y5L0v3N@1lP0l15h!

Security Passwords: Longer Is Stronger

Security experts call this “entropy,” — basically, the level of randomness or unpredictability. A higher rate of entropy means the passphrase is safer.

The longer the passphrase, the higher the entropy.

Let’s keep it simple: Longer is stronger

For example, a typical 8-character password might have 30 bits of entropy; a 20-character passphrase has over 130.

That’s the difference between being hacked in hours versus centuries.

Examples of strong passphrases:

TheSunsetsQuietlyOverAzureMountains!

CyberDragonsDanceAtMidnight

TurtlesDanceUnderNeonStars2025

BananasSingWhenTheMoonLaughs

You get the idea.

Future-Proofing Business Security

Moving toward passphrases is a vital step in aligning with modern cybersecurity best practices. They represent a human-centric approach to authentication without the friction.

And if you want more cybersecurity tips, check out our blog post Cybersecurity Risks for Overseas Firms With UK offices.