Is your password safe? India’s favorite password is not ‘123456’, but this!

It has been widely reported that the most popular password in India is ‘password’ rather than ‘123456’. New research shows that Japan is the only other country with the same top password as India. Other popular passwords in India include ‘iloveyou’, ‘krishna’, ‘sairam’ and ‘omsairam’. According to new research by NordPass, a proprietary password manager, predictable numerical and keyboard sequences are especially prevalent in India.

Research showed that passwords such as 12345 were highly popular, as well as localised versions of qwerty. In French-speaking countries, for example, Azerty. Also, names and loving words are quite common. Another common password in India is 123456789, 12345678, india123, qwerty, abc123, xxx, Indya123, 1qaz@WSX, 123123, abcd1234 and 1qaz.

In general, the Indian password list follows the same trends as many other countries, but also has some differences. The survey noted that India has a different number one password, while 43 of 50 countries analysed opted for a password of 123456. ‘Qwerty’ and its variations are particularly popular in India.

Many women use loving words in English, including ‘iloveyou’, ‘sweetheart’, ‘lovely’, ‘sunshine’, and more. Additionally, the research revealed how weak the top passwords are, indicating the amount of time it would take for a hacker to break them. Globally, 84.5 percent of passwords can be cracked in less than a second. However, in India, 62 passwords can be cracked in less than a second.

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‘Sadly, passwords keep getting weaker, and people don’t maintain proper password hygiene’, says Jonas Karklys, CEO of NordPass. ‘Passwords are the key to our digital lives. As we spend more and more time online, it is more critical than ever that we take better care of our cyber security,’ Karklys concluded. If you found your password on the list, be sure to change it to a unique, strong password. You should use a password generator online or in your password manager app to create one that is truly complex.

‘Today, with an average of around 100 accounts, it would be impossible to remember all the passwords if they are unique and complex. Password managers are a great solution,’ the research noted. Adding an extra layer of security to your password, be it biometric authentication, a phone message, or a physical key, is always a good idea, it added.