Better password strength just one factor

Pete over at Spire Security points out the obvvious(which alluded me):

As far as I can tell, Bruce Schneier's current Wired column, MySpace Passwords Aren't So Dumb, is intended to be taken seriously. The article is supposed to be about how "good" passwords on MySpace are these days, and there isn't a hint of irony in his statement:

"But seriously, passwords are getting better."

I am at a loss to explain how he can come to this conclusion when every single one of the 34,000 passwords he analyzed were stolen through a phishing attack. What he should have said was: "This shows that a 1-character password (the shortest they harvested) is just as secure as a 32-character password (the longest they harvested)"

It points out to me that as a vendor of two-factor authentication solutions we battle not just our competitors but the perceptions that two-factor authentication is a hassle and that stronger passwords will suffice, neither of which is necessarily true any more.

Pete's insight is much more valuable than mine: "MySpace Passwords Aren't So Dumb" - Content is.