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Date:23/12/17

SplashData reveals the worst passwords of the year

From Yahoo’s bombshell announcement of a data breach that affected millions, to the recent WannaCry and BadRabbit ransomware attacks, 2017 has brought several major cybersecurity disasters.
 
But, despite the incessant warnings from security researchers, many people are still turning to weak, easily guessable passwords to protect their devices.
 
SplashData has revealed its list of the worst passwords of 2017, using data from more than 5 million passwords leaked this year – and, once again, ‘123456’ and ‘password’ top the list.
 
The list features several ineffective passwords that have, for some reason, long maintained their hold among internet users.
 
This includes ‘qwerty,’ in fourth place, ‘admin,’ in 11th, and ‘login’, in 14th.
 
And, this year, Star Wars found its way onto the list as well, with ‘starwars’ claiming the 16th spot.
 
‘Unfortunately, while the newest episode may be a fantastic addition to the Star Wars franchise, ‘starwise’ is a dangerous password to use,’ said Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData, Inc.
 
‘Hackers are using common terms from pop culture and sports to break into accounts online because they know many people are using those easy-to-remember words.’
 
There are several themes across the Worst Passwords list, including first names and hobbies.
 
‘Jordan,’ ‘harley,’ ‘robert,’ ‘matthew,’ ‘daniel,’ ‘andrew,’ ‘andrea,’ and ‘joshua’ all made it on the list – along with ‘football,’ and ‘lakers.’
 
Several car names were among the top 50, from ‘ferrari’ to ‘mercedes.’
 
And, ‘trustno1’ proved, perhaps unsurprisingly, to be among the worst passwords as well, taking up spot number 25.
 
The experts warn that adding a number or symbol to a common word is also an ineffective trick.
 
‘Hackers know your tricks, and merely tweaking an easily guessable password does not make it secure,’ said Slain.
 
‘Our hope is that the Worst Passwords of the Year list will cause people to take steps to protect themselves online.’
 
A new report released just last week confirmed that many of us are still using the the word 'password' to access our accounts.
 
And, men are 2.8 times more likely to use this obvious phrase than women.
 
The report also found that nearly a quarter of people use the same password for every site they are signed up to.
 
The study, conducted by Houston-based IT consultancy firm EPC Group, found a large number of people still have bad habits when it comes to staying safe online.
 
 




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