New research has highlighted the most hackable passwords, which allow cybercriminals quick and easy access to personal, private or even financial information.
Experts at KnownHost have urged people with any passwords on this list to change them immediately, warning: “Poor password security can provide easy access to vulnerable data in a matter of seconds.”
The experts gathered the 200 most common passwords in the globe and found the top 10 used in data breaches between 2007 and 2024.
Each of these passwords have been involved in over four million data breaches.All of these passwords could be cracked by cybercriminals in less than a second, according to the research:
- 123456
- 123456789
- 1234
- 12345678
- 12345
- password
- 111111
- admin
- 123123
- abc123
Noting some trends, the experts pointed out that most of the top 10 only used fewer than 10 characters and solely numbers or solely letters showed “many people still do not take password security seriously”.
To combat this, the experts encouraged people to follow some best practice tips when creating their next password.
This includes using a mixture of numbers, letters and special characters, as well as avoiding putting them in order such as the abc123 password on the list. Longer passwords are also harder for cybercriminals to crack but this doesn’t automatically make them fool-proof.
Cybersecurity experts urge people to ditch any personal details such as names or significant dates in their passwords, opting instead for a mix of random words, phrases, and numbers.
For an added layer of security, the introduction of arbitrary letters or characters is recommended. Passwords protecting sensitive data should be unique, especially for banking or medical information.
To ward off cyber threats effectively, it’s advised to regularly change passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and use password managers.
Daniel Pearson, CEO of KnownHost, emphasised: “Cybercriminals are constantly evolving their tactics, but simple password hygiene can be the difference between staying protected and having your details included in a data breach.”
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