November 15th 2024.
Do you still use an easy-to-hack password? If you want to minimize the risk of being hacked, it's common sense that using a password like "password" is not the smartest choice. However, according to a new study by NordPass, it turns out that "password" is actually the most commonly used password in the UK this year. Coming in second and third place are "qwerty123" and "qwerty1", respectively.
Surprisingly, football teams dominate the list, with "liverpool" taking fourth place, followed by "liverpool1" at number nine, "arsenal" at number ten, "chelsea" at number 12, and "rangers" at number 18. The fourth most common password is the simple number sequence "123456", while the sixth and seventh spots go to "123456789" and "password1", respectively. Further down the list, but still in the top 20, are the names "charlie" and "charlie1".
These findings are concerning, as most of these passwords can be cracked by cybercriminals in less than a second. The researchers at NordPass, a password manager service, analyzed a massive database of over 2.5 terabytes of leaked passwords from the internet and dark web to compile a list of the top 200 most commonly used passwords in the UK this year, with the top 20 shared below. NordPass strongly recommends using a password with at least 20 characters.
The study found that a staggering 21,128 UK accounts use the word "password", while 7,338 accounts use "password1". Additionally, 17,415 accounts use the number sequence "123456". Shockingly, many corporate accounts were also using easily hackable passwords, according to NordPass's research. Worldwide, the top three most popular passwords for work accounts were "123456", "123456789", and "12345678". The password "123456" was used for a whopping 1,233,477 work accounts. Even more concerning, many corporate accounts were still using default passwords.
Another common mistake that people make is using the same password for multiple accounts. Karolis Arbačiauskas, head of business product at NordPass, explains, "Password reuse is widespread, and the reason is simple – it's just easier. Nevertheless, proper cybersecurity hygiene requires using a different password for each account because the convenience of password reuse does not outweigh the risks it poses."
Besides using unique passwords for each account, Mr. Arbačiauskas also recommends using passwords that are at least 20 characters long. This makes it much more difficult for hackers to gain access to your account. However, he advises against using a password like "1234567891234556789123456789". Earlier this year, we also looked at the most commonly used pop culture passwords, including those based on bands. The top spot for the latter might surprise you. But the advice remains the same – avoid these passwords as they are easy to hack.
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