SplashData, a leading software security firm, has released its annual list of the most common passwords, and despite multiple high profile hacks and data breaches (looking at you Facebook), it seems as though we don’t learn.
For the fourth consecutive year in a row, ‘password’ and ‘123456’ have topped the list, with the company estimating that up to 3 per cent of the world has used this password at some point. They also estimate that 10 per cent of us have used one of the passwords on the top 25 list.
SplashData’s list is compiled from password data leaked by hackers from more that 5 million vicitims.
So what do hackers look for when trying to break into our gmail accounts?
“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,” SplashData CEO Morgan Slain told Fortune.
That explains why ‘starwars’ (The Last Jedi), ‘dragon’ (Game of Thrones), and ‘football’ (the World Cup) have all featured on the most recent list.
Check out the top 25 list below, and word of advice; if your password is on the list, change it quickly!
Top 25 Most Common Passwords
- 123456
- Password
- 12345678
- qwerty
- 12345
- 123456789
- letmein
- 1234567
- football
- iloveyou
- admin
- welcome
- monkey
- login
- abc123
- starwars
- 123123
- dragon
- passw0rd
- master
- hello
- freedom
- whatever
- qazwsx
- trustno1