The worst passwords in the world
Many people currently work from home offices. This makes password-protected access to company networks all the more important. And: passwords should not be easy for third parties to crack. Despite constant warnings from experts in the field of cybersecurity and digital data protection, people still tend to choose weak passwords that are child's play to hack.
For the fifth year in a row, the world's most popular passwords are now "123456" and "password" (password). This is the result of the software company NordPass, which each year anew a list of the Top 200 worst passwords published. To compile this list, the company evaluated more than 5 million published passwords accessible on the Dark Web. Such password databases mostly come from Europe and North America.
Many passwords circulate on the dark web
"In recent years, a gigantic database of private user information has come to light as a result of numerous data leaks and breaches. And lately, it seems like every few days we hear about a new such incident," said Daniel Markuson, digital privacy expert at NordVPN. "With access to such masses of sensitive data, cybercriminals can make use of it in a variety of ways. And that's exactly why using the same credentials for different services, websites and platforms is so dangerous."
Bad passwords: The top 10
Listed below are the ten worst passwords of 2020 that should never be used for Internet accounts under any circumstances:
- 123456
- 123456789
- picture1
- password
- 12345678
- 111111
- 123123
- 12345
- 1234567890
- senha
How to create a strong password
Below are a few tips on how to create strong passwords that you still won't forget after a few minutes:
- Never use short passwords. The more characters a password has, the longer it takes for a hacker or other shady cybercriminal to crack it.
- Create a complex password. Use upper and lower case, symbols, special characters and numbers to create strong passwords.
- Use long passphrases. Using words from the dictionary is not recommended, but a combination of 6 to 7 random words is a good method. A combination like "left elephant shoes purple rugby vacation" is difficult to guess because of the length and randomness, but easy to remember.
- Rely on a mnemonic. Create memorable sentences by building a mnemonic. For example, a sentence like "I love to eat pizza with my friends in my free time!" can be coined. The first letters of the words then form the password "1leidFmmFPze!".
- Use a password manager. Strong passwords are difficult to remember, which is why a password manager is a good idea. Among the most popular are NordPass and 1Password.
Strong passwords are especially essential for services and websites where sensitive information is shared. These include online banking, shopping websites, home Wi-Fi, personal and work email, and some social media accounts.
