By creating an easy-to-guess password, you are practically inviting hackers and cyber criminals to take all your sensitive information.
It’s official: people are just painfully and agonizingly bad at creating passwords.
The world’s most common password is the incredibly easy to guess, 123456, according to a massive analysis of 10 million leaked passwords.
Throughout the year of 2016, there were many major data breaches that leaked people’s login info online. Some of the login info was new but most of it was years old.
In either case, the breaches allowed researchers to take an unparalleled look at the security habits people have developed over the years. They were all but disgusted.
After having trawled through 10 million passwords, the researchers found that a shocking 17 percent of people use the most insecure password one can think of: 123456. In second place was the slightly longer but equally depressing, 123456789, followed in third place by qwerty which only required users to shift their hand about one centimeter south. Then came 12345678 and then an eye-opening 111111.
For being the 21st century, too many people are using archaically antiquated passwords. “Looking at the list of 2016’s most common passwords, we couldn’t stop shaking our heads,” wrote the lead researcher.
While the leaking of passwords is unfortunate, it may have been necessary to alert people on their insecure habits that not only put them at risk, it can put the safety and security of their loved ones at risk as well.
If your password is any of these, you need to change them immediately for your security:
1. 123456
2. 123456789
3. qwerty
4. 12345678
5. 111111
6. 1234567890
7. 1234567
8. password
9. 123123
10. 987654321
11. qwertyuiop
12. mynoob
13. 123321
14. 666666
15. 18atcskd2w
16. 7777777
17. 1q2w3e4r
18. 654321
19. 555555
20. 3rjs1la7qe
21. google
22. 1q2w3e4r5t
23. 123qwe
24. zxcvbnm
25. 1q2w3e
How to Make a Strong Password
- Mix upper- and lower-case letters.
- Use special characters like !@#$%^&*()?<>
- Use numbers betwixt your characters.
The internet can be a safe and secure place, but only if you make it so. For all of your business insurance needs to ensure you have the right cyber liability coverage, contact Miller Insurance Associates in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.