Top 10 Most Common Passwords — Are You Using Any of These Potential Disasters?
As in years past, they were uncomplicated and easy to guess.
December 30, 2020
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According to Chad Hammond, a security expert at NordPass, the most popular password has been breached 23.5 million times. And, on average, it took hackers less than a second to crack it.
Adding three more numbers to the string makes it less popular — only 961,435 people use it, as compared to 2.5 million using the most common password. But it doesn’t make this password any more difficult to crack — it still took hackers less than a second.
New to the list in 2020, this password is being used on 371,612 logins. It took hackers around three hours to crack it, but they managed to do it 11,190 times, and you know what they say about practice making perfect.
No points for originality here. SplashData says this password OG was the most common one until 2013, when 123456 took over that spot. Now in use on a mere 360,467 logins, it still managed to be hacked 3.8 million times, each time in less than a second.
Yet another variation on the number string, this password has 322,187 users and takes less than a second to crack. Which happened 2.9 million times.
While notable for its simplicity, this password offers about as much security as an umbrella in a hurricane. Still, 230,507 users stuck with it — and it was cracked in less than a second more than 3.1 million times.
A good phrase for testing microphones, 123123 doesn’t stand a chance of providing effective cybersecurity for its 189,327 users. It was hacked 2.2 million times in — you guessed it — less than one second.
Ranked number one on NordPass’ list last year, this password lost 2.6 million users in the past 12 months, going from 2.8 million users to 188,268. It remained popular with hackers, though, and was exposed 2.4 million times.
This password actually gained users in 2020 and moved up the list from number 11 to claim its current spot. Found on 171,724 logins, it was cracked 2.3 million times.
Debuting on the list this year, senha is Portuguese for “password.” Interestingly, 167,728 people thought it would provide adequate protection. Hackers proved them wrong 8,213 times.
So what should you do if your password is — or you even suspect is — among the most commonly used ones? Cybersecurity expert Chad Hammond suggests changing it immediately. He also offers five tips for maintaining good password hygiene.
Learn those in the slides that follow.
Go over all the accounts you have and delete the ones you no longer use.
Use unique, complicated passwords to safeguard your accounts. Employ a password generator to make sure they are impossible to guess. To see if any of your current passwords have ever been exposed online, you can also check them using an online strength checker.
Whether it’s an app, biometric data or hardware security key, your accounts will be much safer when you add that extra layer of protection.
A password manager is a great tool for both generating and storing passwords. Advanced password managers also have useful features such as those that help you find out whether any of your accounts have been compromised.
Make sure to regularly check every one of your accounts for suspicious activity. If you notice something unusual, change your password immediately.
Make sure to regularly check every one of your accounts for suspicious activity. If you notice something unusual, change your password immediately.
NordPass has released its annual list of the most common passwords. The company compiled the list from research on the most common passwords of the year. It was done in partnership with a third-party company specializing in data breach research. They evaluated a database that contained nearly 276 million passwords, of which only about 123 million (44.5%) were unique.
Despite increasing emphasis on security, as well as the constant reminders from cybersecurity experts, people still use easy-to-remember passwords. And they continue to use the same ones. Of the top 200 most common passwords in 2020, only 78 were new to the list.
Scroll through our slideshow above to learn about the top 10 most common passwords in 2020 and what you can do to maintain good password hygiene.
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