All students, faculty and staff will have to change their myACU password by Oct. 1. Passwords that have not been changed by the end of the month will automatically be deactivated.

Evan Young, information technology communication officer, said changing the myACU password is for the safety of the system users. ACU recently conducted an internal audit to assess ways the department on campus may improve. One of the recommendations for IT included having students, staff and alumni to change login passwords every 90 to 180 days.

“Changing passwords this often is very common at other institutes as well,” Young said.

Young said some of the ACU community has experienced some phishing attempts. Phishing is an attempt to retrieve valuable information from someone, such as date of birth, social security number or credit/debit card information. This can be accomplished through emails, websites, false login pages and other electronic media that appears to be trustworthy.

Young said a few people have contacted the Helpdesk about the inconvenience of changing their password but Young said he has been working with IT to make the transition as safe as possible and prevent any malicious software, hackers and other threats to the technology at ACU.

The password change was set for October to coincide with cybersecurity awareness month.

“It is important for the ACU community to realize how serious and important cybersecurity is,” Young said.

Shalaina Lakey, senior special education major from Hamlin, said the password change is a hassle for her and others.

“I have had my password for years and it’s a bit unsettling that I have to change it now,” she said. “When people decide what their password is going to be it is often something that is unforgettable, and now I feel like I have to remember something all over again.”

Each new password should include a minimum of eight characters and either a capital letter, a lowercase letter, a number or a special character.