Frequently Asked Question

If someone else has your password, they have your City of CDA network Identity. They can access your emails, files, web history, and personal medical or financial information that you’ve accessed from work computers.

If an attack against our Information System is perpetrated by someone using your credentials, you may be held responsible for damages incurred. Disciplinary action may be taken up to and including termination of employment with the City.

You should change your password periodically, ideally at least every six months. There are several reasons for this:

First, passwords are often stolen without the knowledge of the victim. Stolen passwords will frequently be collected by a thief, and sold in bulk to organized crime groups for use at a later time. Changing your password on a regular basis will help ensure that your stolen password cannot be used to impersonate your identity at a later date.

Second, passwords can be guessed by using brute force attacks. With current technology brute force attacks can take months to “guess” a strong password. If you change your password every six months, any brute force attack that takes longer is rendered ineffective.

Lastly, many of our users are required by government regulations to change our passwords. If you are in a position where you have access to Personally Identifiable Information (PII) regarding Medical or Criminal Justice information with regard to our customers or employees, you are subject to even stronger password regulations under HIPAA* or CJIS** security policies.

*HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
**CJIS – Criminal Justice Information Services, a division of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).