Generating and Managing Strong Passwords using Hotel Mnemonic

TL;DR

This paper presents a method for generating and securely storing strong passwords using hotel mnemonics and a hybrid hash-encryption strategy, demonstrated through a custom program called Hector.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach combining hotel-based mnemonics with hash-encryption for managing strong passwords, enhancing memorability and security.

Findings

Effective password strength through random generation

Secure storage via hash-encryption using mnemonic-derived keys

Implementation of Hector program for practical use

Abstract

Weak passwords and availability of supercomputers to password crackers make the financial institutions and businesses at stake. This calls for use of strong passwords and multi factor authentication for secure transactions. Remembering a long and complex password by humans is a daunting task and mnemonic has helped to mitigate this situation to an extent. This paper discusses creating and using long random password and storing them securely using a hybrid strategy of hash-encryption method. The hash function uses a mnemonic password based on the hotel names and other characteristics like room number, floor number and breakfast meal preferences to generate the encryption key. The random strong password can be then encrypted using the key and stored safely. A computer program named Hector is developed which demonstrates these steps and can be used to generate and store the passwords.