Password & Authentication Policy

Defines password requirements, MFA mandates, and credential management. Maps to SOC 2 CC6.1 and ISO 27001 A.9.4. This free, professionally written template from Proveably is ready to download in multiple formats and customise for your organisation. No account required.

Specifies minimum password complexity, rotation requirements, MFA enrollment, SSO configuration, service account management, and credential storage practices.

soc2 iso27001 hipaa pci_dss
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Why You Need This Password & Authentication Policy

A well-documented Password & Authentication Policy is essential for organisations pursuing compliance certifications and building trust with customers, partners, and auditors. Without formal documentation, your organisation faces several risks:

  • Audit failures — Auditors specifically check for documented policies. A missing or incomplete policy is one of the most common reasons organisations fail SOC 2, ISO 27001, or other compliance audits.
  • Security gaps — Without clear guidelines, employees and contractors may follow inconsistent security practices, creating vulnerabilities.
  • Regulatory exposure — Many regulations (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS) require documented policies. Non-compliance can result in fines and legal liability.
  • Lost business opportunities — Enterprise customers increasingly require vendors to demonstrate formal security policies before signing contracts.

This Proveably template gives you a professional starting point that covers industry best practices and maps directly to compliance framework requirements.

Compliance Framework Requirements

This template is designed to satisfy requirements from the following frameworks:

soc2

This template addresses key soc2 control requirements with pre-mapped sections and audit-ready language.

iso27001

This template addresses key iso27001 control requirements with pre-mapped sections and audit-ready language.

hipaa

This template addresses key hipaa control requirements with pre-mapped sections and audit-ready language.

pci_dss

This template addresses key pci_dss control requirements with pre-mapped sections and audit-ready language.

Specifically mapped control codes: CC6.1, CC6.2, CC6.3, A.9.4.1, A.9.4.2, A.9.4.3

Template Preview

# Password & Authentication Policy ## 1. Purpose This policy establishes authentication requirements for **[Company Name]** to prevent unauthorized access to systems and data. ## 2. Password Requirements ### 2.1 Complexity | Requirement | Minimum | |---|---| | Length | 12 characters | | Character types | Uppercase, lowercase, number, special character | | Dictionary words | Prohibited | | Previous passwords | Cannot reuse last 12 | ### 2.2 Rotation - User passwords: Changed every **90 days** (or upon suspected compromise) - Service account credentials: Rotated every **90 days** automatically - API keys: Rotated every **180 days** or upon personnel changes ## 3. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) ### 3.1 MFA is Required For - All production system access - All cloud console access (AWS, GCP, Azure) - VPN connections - Source code repositories - Customer data access - Admin panels and dashboards ### 3.2 Approved MFA Methods - Hardware security keys (FIDO2/WebAuthn) — **preferred** - Authenticator apps (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password) - Push notifications via approved providers ### 3.3 Prohibited MFA Methods - SMS-based OTP (vulnerable to SIM swapping) - Email-based OTP for privileged access ## 4. Single Sign-On (SSO) - SSO via the corporate identity provider is **mandatory** for all SaaS applications that support it - SAML 2.0 or OIDC protocols required - JIT (Just-In-Time) provisioning should be enabled where available ## 5. Credential Storage - Passwords must never be stored in plaintext, code repositories, or shared documents - All credentials must be stored in the approved password manager - Shared credentials (service accounts) must be managed via secrets management (e.g., AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault) ## 6. Account Lockout - Accounts are locked after **5 consecutive failed login attempts** - Lockout duration: **30 minutes** (or manual unlock by admin) - Failed login attempts are logged and monitored ## 7. Session Management - Idle sessions expire after **15 minutes** for privileged access - Idle sessions expire after **60 minutes** for standard access - Maximum session duration: **12 hours** requiring re-authentication --- *Approved by: [Name, Title]* *Effective Date: [Date]* *Version: 1.0*

Frequently Asked Questions

A Password & Authentication Policy is a formal policy that defines password requirements, mfa mandates, and credential management. maps to soc 2 cc6.1 and iso 27001 a.9.4. It provides a structured framework for organisations to document and enforce security and compliance requirements.
Yes. Proveably provides this Password & Authentication Policy template completely free of charge. You can download it in Markdown, PDF, Word, Excel, or plain text format — no account required.
This policy is mapped to soc2, iso27001, hipaa, pci_dss. It includes the specific control references and requirements needed to satisfy auditor expectations for these frameworks.
Download the template in your preferred format, then customise the bracketed placeholder sections with your organisation's specific details. Review with your security team or compliance officer, get management approval, and distribute to relevant staff. Proveably recommends reviewing and updating this policy at least annually.
Absolutely. This template is designed as a starting point. All sections should be tailored to your organisation's size, industry, and specific compliance requirements. The placeholder text indicates sections that require customisation.

Tags

password mfa authentication sso access-control essential

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