Millions ignore cybersecurity threats, use ‘weak passwords’: Report

The Top 200 Most Common Passwords Used in 2022 list was published by the password management business NordPass. The survey, which was made public on Monday, revealed that the majority of individuals have been using the word ‘password’ as their account password. The paper referred to, ‘We discovered that, despite increased knowledge of cybersecurity, old behaviours persist. The study demonstrates that consumers continue to safeguard their accounts using flimsy passwords’.

NordPass conducted the study, which also examined how people’s password choices are influenced by their cultural backgrounds, across 30 different nations. Password, 123456, and 123456789 are the top three passwords used by users in these nations. The research also demonstrates that it will just take one second or less to decipher the top three passwords.

‘Bigbasket’ and ‘1111111’ are the two most used passwords in India. Indian users also often use the passwords ‘iloveyou, abcd1234,’ and ‘iphone5s’.  The survey also found that consumers heavily rely on movies and movies to help them choose a password for their accounts. It stated, ‘The most well-liked movies released in 2021–2022 included Batman, Euphoria, and Encanto. All three are likewise frequently used passwords: ‘Batman, euphoria,’ and ‘Encanto,’ which have each been entered 2,562,776 times total.’

Even the Oscars celebration, the year’s greatest film industry event, led many people to use the not quite secure password ‘Oscars,’ which was entered more than 60,000 times. The researchers noticed that people frequently choose passwords for their preferred movie characters, sports teams, and foods. Swear words, artist names, video games, automobiles, and cuisine are some of the other historically significant categories.

In collaboration with independent specialists with expertise in researching cybersecurity issues, NordPass put together the list after analysing a 3TB database. The report’s conclusion offers advice for picking a strong password, and the company also provides some basic password hygiene rules, such as avoiding using the same password across numerous accounts and utilising a password manager to store and access credentials securely.