Unbeatable: "123456" is for the fifth consecutive year the most used password in the world

2020-07-03T16:50:33.576Z

One in 142 passwords is the world's easiest-to-guess sequence of numbers. Dangers and advice.

07/03/2020 - 10:16

Clarín.com
Technology

" 123456 " is the worst password in the world. The most insecure. It doesn't matter when you read this. "123456" is the most widely used password in the world . It also doesn't matter when you read this.

For the fifth consecutive year, the succession of numbers from 1 to 6 is the most common password among Internet users, making it easier for those who steal identities, hack accounts and steal money through phishing .

According to a study based on a billion credentials by the University of Cyprus, only 168 million contained unique passwords. And of those, 7 million were "123456".

Only 12.04% of passwords contain special characters. (AP)

The analysis, carried out by the computer engineer Ata Hackil, detected that 0.722% of the passwords follow this pattern. The study was made from data dumps , that is, a kind of data repository that arises from leaked passwords after reports from companies, which are usually the most targeted focus by attackers.

But not only 123456 is in the crosshairs: the 1000 most common passwords cover 6.607% of all the passwords that circulate in the world, which speaks of a serious security problem.

Other conclusions the study drew:

–The average password length is 9 characters

–Only 12.04% of passwords contain special characters ( ! #? &% . For example)

–28.79% of passwords are only letters

–26.16% of passwords are only lowercase

–13.37% of passwords are just numbers

–34.41% of passwords end with digits, but only 4,522% of passwords start with digits

What are the dangers of using easy passwords

Of course, the most obvious problem with using a password as simple as 123456 is that our information is exposed to attackers. According to a study from the beginning of the year. 30 percent of ransomware attacks occur due to weak passwords.

Ransomware It is a type of program that, installed on our devices, allows a computer attacker to access our information.

An earlier-year study found that 30 percent of cases where a computer is infected by ransomware is due to the use of weak passwords by users. Over the past year, the third most common issue around information theft has been very simple passwords.

The research revealed that phishing (67 percent) and lack of cybersecurity training (36 percent) are the main causes, along with weak passwords (30 percent) of ransomware infection on computers during 2019.

Too easy a password is a very big problem for our private data. (Bloomberg)

Weak passwords are a serious problem in cybersecurity, especially since users are not aware of the danger. According to a survey conducted by Google on beliefs and behaviors on the network, more than 50 percent of users use a favorite password in most of their accounts.

Following data collected by the UK Cybersecurity Center, around 23.2 million victims of a ransomware attack worldwide used the password 123456. While some 7.8 million victims used the password 12345678, more than 3.5 million users used "password" as their password to protect their accounts.

Weak passwords are a serious problem in cybersecurity, especially since users are not aware of the danger. According to a survey conducted by Google on beliefs and behaviors on the network, more than 50 percent of users use a favorite password in most of their accounts.

Aside from its repetitive use, the methods Americans use to control their passwords are also inadequate. 45 percent of respondents say they memorize their passwords, 43 percent type them somewhere, 17 percent save them in their browser, while only 12 percent use a password manager.

Following data collected by the UK Cybersecurity Center, around 23.2 million victims of a ransomware attack worldwide used the password 123456. While some 7.8 million victims used the password '12345678', more than 3.5 million users used 'password' as their password to protect their accounts.

Aside from its repetitive use, the methods Americans use to control their passwords are also inadequate. 45 percent of respondents say they memorize their passwords, 43 percent type them somewhere, 17 percent save them in their browser, while only 12 percent use a password manager.

The best password: use a key manager

1Password, one of the best known password managers. (1Password)

Not everyone knows it, but there are programs that are responsible for creating strong passwords. These programs work from complex computations that generate strong passwords.

1Password, Keeper, Dashlane, Lastpass, are some of the best known.

This type of software asks us only for a master password, through which we access all our information. Records are created for the sites we use and, from them, strong passwords are generated.

Some examples of strong passwords these programs generate, to understand why they are so difficult to guess:

–Yq95D # NQC8qH @ jmnbtBn

–1aK% YpFpWs # tkxrYc @ V!

–CMY7s @ o7EVUk1VKAlcBK

Without a doubt, it is a simple option to solve this problem.

Most programs have free versions, but to use all its features (for example, that they are available on all our devices) you have to pay annually.

A price worth paying if you want peace and security on the web.