Design Powerful Password Policies with CloudConnexa’s New Password Policy Manager

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In a Zero Trust world, verification begins with identity — and strong passwords are a critical foundation. While Zero Trust rightly emphasizes MFA and continuous validation (like device identity, location, and device posture checks), weak credentials still leave your organization exposed and non-compliant with standards like NIST, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001.

CloudConnexa’s new Password Policy Manager gives you flexible control to automatically enforce strict, industry-aligned password policies that address complexity, known-compromised passwords, and credential history. Whether your organization relies on CloudConnexa’s native authentication or integrates with an external IdP, you now have the power to fill critical security gaps and confidently meet internal and regulatory standards.

Why password policies matter

Passwords remain one of the most commonly exploited vulnerabilities — especially when users adopt weak or predictable credentials. Attackers continue to leverage:

• Brute-force attacks: Automated attempts to guess passwords by trial and error.
• Dictionary attacks: Attempting commonly used passwords or previously leaked credentials.
• Credential stuffing: Using stolen passwords from one breach to infiltrate other accounts.

Weak or static policies lead to security gaps such as:

• Users reusing old, leaked, or predictable passwords.
• Limited defense against automated password-guessing attacks.
• Inability to meet industry mandates around password rotation, review, and strength.

CloudConnexa’s Password Policy Manager solves these challenges by enforcing essential password policies at the point of creation, regardless of user awareness.

Introducing CloudConnexa’s Password Policy Manager

Password Policy Manager introduces a customizable set of password requirement settings that empower administrators to enforce strict rules for their users — resulting in highly secure passwords that meet internal and industry standards and recommendations.

You can configure and enforce each of the following password policies:

Password strength

Define password complexity requirements, including minimum length and character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols). Strong, complex passwords are your first line of defense against cracking and brute-force attacks — and they help meet compliance requirements like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and NIST.

Passwords blocklist

Automatically screen for predictable or high-risk passwords using a predefined list of 10,000 common passwords or your own custom blocklist. Plus, a Test Password prompt instantly checks whether a specific password is currently blacklisted — whether by the predefined dictionary or the custom list. This keeps compromised credentials out of use and sharply reduces your attack surface.

Passwords history

Assign a lifespan for every password and restrict users from reusing previous passwords. This helps enforce secure rotation practices and aligns with requirements like the conditional 90-day rotation requirement in PCI DSS v4.0 when organizations choose rotation as their control method. It also ensures old, potentially compromised credentials stay retired.

Account lockout policy

Protect your systems by locking accounts after too many failed attempts, slowing or stopping brute-force and credential-stuffing attacks. PCI DSS v4.0 requires that systems lock accounts after a defined number of unsuccessful access attempts and that they remain locked or until an administrator resets them. This approach is mandatory across frameworks like NIST and CIS Controls.

🗝️ TL;DR: The Password Policy Manager closes the gap between security risk and compliance by giving administrators flexible control to automatically enforce strict, industry-aligned password policies — protecting your network from common attacks while simplifying audits.

Where to enforce password policies: IdP vs CloudConnexa

With your Identity Provider (IdP) for SSO

If your organization uses an external IdP, enforce password policies at the IdP for centralized control and a consistent experience across federated apps. 

CloudConnexa can seamlessly integrate with external IdPs for SSO and take advantage of their advanced password policies but, in its absence, also provide a comprehensive set of password requirement settings to ensure consistent security and compliance for all accounts by enabling granular control over brute-force defense, password history, and compromised credential blacklisting.

Within CloudConnexa’s zero-trust VPN

For organizations that rely on local authentication or need a native fallback, Password Policy Manager provides comprehensive, auditable enforcement directly within CloudConnexa. This ensures consistent security and compliance for all accounts — regardless of authentication source.

Verifiable parameters (enforced by Password Policy Manager)

To give administrators a clear, auditable view of exactly what CloudConnexa enforces, Password Policy Manager maps each configurable policy to industry standards and best practices. The following parameters highlight how every password requirement aligns with compliance frameworks and protects against common attack vectors — from brute-force attempts to the use of compromised or predictable credentials.

1. Password strength (length & complexity)

• Satisfies the minimum length and complexity rules of PCI DSS v4.0 and HIPAA. 
• Meets the length recommendations of NIST (2024) and OWASP (2023), which favor length over complexity. 
• Meets the mandatory minimum length criteria for CIS Controls v8 and ISO 27001.

2. Passwords blocklist (compromised & dictionary check)

• Mandatory to prevent compromised/dictionary words under NIST (2024) and OWASP (2023).
• Satisfies requirements in HIPAA and ISO 27001 to prohibit easily guessable passwords.

3. Passwords history (recycling/expiration)

• Supports configuring password rotation to satisfy PCI DSS v4.0 when rotation is the selected control method.
• Meets the control requirement to prevent password recycling for NIST and CIS Controls v8 (e.g., last 24 passwords).

4. Account lockout policy (brute force protection)

• Mandatory for brute force throttling across PCI DSS v4.0, NIST, CIS Controls v8, and OWASP.
• Directly contributes to GDPR’s resilience and HIPAA/ISO 27001’s audit controls for monitoring login failures.

Admin quick-start recommendations (best practice examples)

• Password minimum length: NIST SP 800-63B encourages allowing passwords of at least 64 characters but does not require a specific minimum; many organizations adopt 12–16 characters as a strong baseline.
• Character composition: Modern guidance (including CISA and NIST) emphasizes passphrases over strict composition rules, though CloudConnexa supports both approaches. 
• Passwords blocklist: Enable the predefined 10,000-password dictionary and add organization-specific terms to a custom list. Use Test Password to troubleshoot.
• Password history & rotation: Can be configured to enforce a 90-day lifespan and prevent reuse of the last 24 passwords when rotation is your selected control method — aligning with PCI DSS v4.0. 
• Account lockout: PCI DSS v4.0 requires lockout after a defined number of failed attempts, with the account remaining locked for a defined minimum time period or until an administrator resets it. 

Built for compliance

Password Policy Manager aligns with mandatory controls and best practices across leading standards so your organization can confidently demonstrate adherence:

• Password Strength: PCI DSS, HIPAA, NIST, OWASP, CIS, ISO 27001.
• Blocklist: NIST, OWASP, HIPAA, ISO 27001.
• Passwords History: PCI DSS, NIST, CIS Controls v8.
• Account Lockout: PCI DSS, NIST, CIS Controls v8, OWASP, GDPR, HIPAA/ISO 27001 audit controls.

Why CloudConnexa stands apart

While other ZTNA vendors often rely solely on external IdPs and provide only basic password rules, CloudConnexa allows administrators to:

• Enforce resilient passwords even without an IdP.
• Integrate seamlessly with SSO if present.
• Apply granular controls for brute-force defense, password history, and compromised credential blacklisting.
• Gain auditable visibility for compliance and internal security reviews.

How to start using Password Policies Manager

To set up your custom policies:

1. Log in to your CloudConnexa administration portal.
2. Go to Settings > User Authentication.
3. Click the Password Management tab.
4. Begin configuring Password Strength, Blocklist, History, and Account Lockout.

📘 Learn more in our CloudConnexa Password Policy Manager Documentation.