Weak passwords are the norm

19 January 2016

6208a The most common passwords in use remain the easiest ones to crack.

The top three in 2015 were “123456”, “password” and “qwerty”.

The information comes from SplashData, a security group which issues an annual ranking based on data breaches in the US and western Europe.

It said that, despite warnings, the very simple and easy-to-crack “123456” retained top place for the fifth consecutive year. Moreover, the variations "12345678", "12345", "123456789", “1234”, “1234567” were all in the top ten.

The top ten was completed by the equally simple “football” and “baseball”.

All of these passwords fall well outside the most basic security principles on secure codes, leaving them exceptionally vulnerable to being easily hacked.

Specialist software designed for hacking often tries first to use the most common codes. Once the code is unlocked, hackers often can get into banking and other accounts.

The hacking of dating website Ashley Madison last year revealed thousands of passwords. There too “123456”, “12345” and “password” were among the most popular.

The 25 most common passwords are -