Many individuals tend to choose easily memorable passwords for their numerous online accounts, but this practice can make their accounts vulnerable to cyberattacks. Despite repeated warnings, some people still use weak and easily crackable passwords, necessitating immediate security enhancements.
The NordPass team has identified some of the most commonly used passwords in the UK to highlight what not to do. Shockingly, passwords like “admin,” “123456,” and “password” are still in use.
The top 10 worst passwords are:
1. admin
2. 123456
3. password
4. 12345678
5. 123456789
6. Password1
7. Password
8. 12345
9. Lennon11
10. 1234567890
Contrary to common belief, poor password choices are not limited to older individuals. NordPass reports that password quality is equally low across all age groups, with “12345” and “123456” consistently ranking as top choices.
Encouragingly, more people are now incorporating symbols and capital letters into their passwords, enhancing security and making them harder to crack. However, popular passwords like “P@ssw0rd,” “Admin@123,” or “Abcd@1234” are still relatively easy to compromise.
To bolster security, it is advisable to create complex passwords with a combination of characters, symbols, and numbers. Karolis Arbaciauskas, NordPass’ head of product, emphasized the importance of strong passwords in light of the prevalence of data breaches caused by compromised and weak passwords.
While the world is gradually transitioning to passwordless authentication methods like passkeys based on biometric data, strong passwords remain crucial. Approximately 80% of data breaches result from compromised or reused passwords, underscoring the need for robust password practices in the interim.
