MaxxKonnect, the Josh Bohn-led company known for providing broadcast engineering and technology services to broadcasters, has brought to market a no-cost internet-based password generator built to help radio and television broadcasters comply with new FCC cybersecurity password requirements that take effect on September 29.
The requirements apply to Emergency Alert System (EAS) equipment, studio-transmitter link (STL) equipment, and other remotely managed equipment that routes, processes, or inserts content into a station’s programming.
Under the rule, passwords used to secure this equipment must be at least 15 characters long, must not contain dictionary words, and must not be reused across other accounts, equipment, applications, or services. Factory and default passwords must be replaced before equipment is used to broadcast, and passwords must be changed whenever there is reason to believe they have been compromised.
The tool, available at fccpassword.com, generates random 15-character passwords that meet those requirements and screens each result to exclude dictionary words as well as common one- and two-letter words. Passwords are generated locally in the user’s browser and are not stored, logged, or transmitted.
“Stations are going to need a lot of new passwords in a short window, for equipment that in some cases has never had its default credentials changed,” said Mike Hutchens, VP of Engineering at MaxxKonnect. “We built this so engineers, owners, whomever needs to – can generate compliant passwords quickly without having to think through the requirements every time.”
A compliant password addresses only the password portion of the FCC’s new requirements. Broadcasters remain responsible for installing security patches and firmware updates promptly and for protecting covered equipment with a firewall or comparable network-segmentation method.
