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CybersecuritySecurity NewswireAccess ManagementIdentity ManagementCybersecurity News

The Worst Passwords of 2018

Cybersecurity passwords
December 17, 2018

Bad habits die hard, according to SplashData’s eighth annual list of Worst Passwords of the Year. After evaluating more than 5 million passwords leaked on the Internet, the company found that computer users continue using the same predictable, easily guessable passwords. Using these passwords will put anyone at substantial risk of being hacked and having their identities stolen.

While terrible passwords such as “123456” and “password” continue in the #1 and #2 spots, respectively, President Trump debuted on this year’s list with “donald" showing up as the 23 rd most frequently used password.

“Sorry, Mr. President, but this is not fake news – using your name or any common name as a password is a dangerous decision,” said Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData, Inc. “Hackers have great success using celebrity names, terms from pop culture and sports, and simple keyboard patterns to break into accounts online because they know so many people are using those easy-to- remember combinations.”

Each year, SplashData evaluates millions of leaked passwords to determine which passwords were most used by computer users during that year. Even with the risks well known, many millions of people continue to use weak, easily-guessable passwords to protect their online information. 2018 was the fifth consecutive year that “123456” and “password” retained their top two spots on the list. The next five top passwords on the list are simply numerical strings.

SplashData, provider of password management applications TeamsID, Gpass, and SplashID, releases its annual list in an effort to encourage the adoption of stronger passwords.

“Our hope by publishing this list each year is to convince people to take steps to protect themselves online,” says Slain. “It’s a real head-scratcher that with all the risks known, and with so many highly publicized hacks such as Marriott and the National Republican Congressional Committee, that people continue putting themselves at such risk year-after-year.”

SplashData’s Worst Passwords of 2018

 

  1. 123456 
  2. password 
  3. 123456789 
  4. 12345678 
  5. 12345 
  6. 111111 
  7. 1234567
  8. sunshine
  9. qwerty 
  10. iloveyou
  11. princess 
  12. admin 
  13. welcome
  14. 666666
  15. abc123 
  16. football
  17. 123123 
  18. monkey 
  19. 654321
  20. !@#$%^&*
  21. charlie 
  22. aa123456  w
  23. donald 
  24. password1 
  25. qwerty123 

SplashData said it estimates almost 10% of people have used at least one of the 25 worst passwords on this year’s list, and nearly 3% of people have used the worst password, 123456.

KEYWORDS: access control cybersecurity identity (ID) management passwords

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