Research by Nordpass and a group of independent researchers has revealed the 200 most common passwords in 2022. The methodology used also allowed them to collect information based on country and gender. Discovery suggests that a lot of people around the world do not adhere to password hygiene rules.  

The list of passwords was collected as a result of exploration of a 3TB database by Nordpass and independent researchers that specialise in cybersecurity incidents. In order to enable them conduct a statistical analysis focused on countries and gender, the researchers had to divide the data into several verticals.

The top three most commonly used passwords in Nigeria are 123456, 1982 and 12345678 – all of which will take a moderately-skilled hacker less than a second to compromise. The table below shows the top 10 most commonly used passwords in Nigeria and in all the 30 countries whose data was available.

For the complete list and the period it will take to crack them, check the link below.

As highlighted earlier, having a weak password makes it easier for an attacker to break into one’s account. For example, if the attacker breaks into an individual’s banking app, the attacker can steal money from the account. If it’s their social media account, the attacker can impersonate them and ask their contacts for financial assistance, or even lock them out of the account by changing the email address or password associated with the account. If the attacker gain’s access to their email account, s/he will be privy to personal information about the victim. If the compromised account is associated with work, it can be used to phish fellow employees or even launch a business email compromise (BEC) attack. 

Countermeasures

It is important to strictly observe healthy password hygiene. This can done by:

1. Creating a password that’s long, complex and unpredictable. This means the password should be at least 12 characters long, be a combination of letters (both uppercase and lowercase), numbers and special characters (symbols), and something that’s not easily guessed.
2. The same password should not be reused across accounts; so if you’re using a particular password for your Facebook account, make sure you use a different one for your banking application, because once one account becomes compromised it means the attacker cannot use the same password to compromise your other accounts.
3. Change passwords periodically.
4. To simply the processes above, use a password manager.

Reference

https://nordpass.com/most-common-passwords-list/?utm_source=chartr&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=chartr_20221118