2.1 Password phrase benefits Users can have a password or a password phrase, or both, and therefore the same user ID can be used for both traditional applications that accept passwords, and for new applications that take advantage of the password phrase implementation. 2.1.1 Password phrase concepts In z/OS V1R8, RACF has implemented the password phrase technology as an infrastructure to provide an alternative to traditional passwords, thereby improving system security authentication to better fit with distributed operation systems. Your password might need to satisfy certain installation-defined rules. RACF is able to exploit the password phrase as a string of characters from 14 to 100 bytes in length, well beyond the previous standard password limit of 8 bytes on traditional passwords. Furthermore, password phrases can contain characters that are not allowed in a password, including blanks. In addition to traditional passwords, you can also have an optional password phrase, which you can use instead of a password with applications that support password phrase technology. Password phrases provide a security advantage over traditional passwords because they are long enough to withstand most hacking attempts. Note: Although RACF allows setting a password phrase, currently no z/OS V1R8 components support the use of password phrase. Password phrase is an alternative to your password for verifying your identity; however, your installation might have