In the ongoing battle to safeguard personal information, NordPass, a company specializing in password generation and security, has released its annual list of frequently used passwords, exposing a concerning lack of creativity among users.
Collaborating with independent researchers who analyzed 4.3 terabytes of publicly available data from 35 countries and eight different platforms, NordPass found that many common passwords consist of easily guessable strings of numbers. Topping the list is the simplistic “123456,” detected over 4.5 million times, taking less than a second to crack. Similarly vulnerable is the password “admin,” occurring over 4 million times.
Strings of numbers like “1234,” “12345678,” and “123456789” also dominate the list. Surprisingly, even seemingly complex variations like “P@ssw0rd” are prevalent, appearing 135,424 times and still taking less than a second to crack.
NordPass emphasizes that series of letters, such as “qwertyuiop,” are alarmingly common, counted 79,434 times and requiring less than a second for unauthorized access.
Country-specific analyses reveal familiar entries like “123456,” “password,” and “admin” topping the list in the U.S. Notably, the 16th most common U.S. password is “sh**bird,” detected 4,230 times and taking five minutes to crack. Platform-specific habits are also evident, with “amazon” ranking as the fourth most common password for e-commerce sites.
Streaming sites, however, exhibit the least secure passwords, with “netflix” being one of the most commonly used. NordPass advises users to create strong passwords with at least 20 characters, incorporating a mix of upper and lower case letters. Cautioning against easily guessable information like birthdays, the company stresses the importance of unique passwords across different platforms to enhance overall security.