Experts have been recommending people for long to use strong passwords so that hackers cannot gain unauthorized access to their data. However, a recent research, done by NorPass, found out that people are still using weak passwords.
According to the research, the top 10 most common passwords worldwide in 2022 are password, 123456, 123456789, guest, qwerty, 12345678, 111111, 12345, col123456 and 123123.
The “password” takes hackers less than one second to crack. It is alarming that over 4 million people worldwide use this as their password.
The second most common password, 123456, which too takes less than a second to crack, is being used by more than 1 million people worldwide.
In the neighbouring country India, close to 350,000 people are using “password” as password for signing up, reports India Today.
The second-most common password in the country is "123456", standing at No 2.
The other most common passwords of this year in India are 12345678, bigbasket, 123456789, pass@123, 1234567890, anmol123, abcd1234 and googledummy. These passwords are being used by thousands of users, according to the report.
“Every year, researchers notice the same pattern — sports teams, movie characters, and food items dominate every password list,” the report stated.
“Compared to data from 2021, 73% of the 200 most common passwords in 2022 remain the same. Furthermore, 83% of the passwords in this year's list can be cracked in less than a second,” the report added.
NordPass did the research by compiling passwords from 30 countries' users with independent researchers specializing in research of cybersecurity incidents. They evaluated a 3TB database.
Researchers classified the data into various verticals, which allowed them to perform a statistical analysis based on countries and gender.
Password hygiene basics
Users are advised to consider these options when setting up their passwords to protect their data:
Long and complex
A complex password is one that contains at least 12 characters and a variety of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Using a password generator is the easiest way to create complex passwords.
Reuse of passwords
A single password for multiple accounts makes a hacker's job that much easier. If only one of the accounts is compromised, all of your other accounts become jeopardized.
Audit your accounts
Regularly check which accounts you're still using and which you no longer access. Unused accounts can put your security online at risk because you may not notice when they get breached.
Check password strength and update regularly
Regularly assess your password health. Identify weak, reused, or old passwords and fortify your online security with new, complex ones.
Use a password manager
Using a password manager to securely store and access your passwords is the simplest and most efficient way to boost your overall online security.