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January 21, 2015

‘123456’ password makes it easy for hackers

Password tops the 25 most commonly used passwords in 2014 across North America & Europe.

By CBR Staff Writer

‘123456’ topped the list of 25 most commonly used passwords in 2014, according to SplashData which gathered data from the 3.3 million leaked passwords during the year from North America and Western Europe.

The word ‘Password’ grabbed the second spot in the ‘Worst Password’ list followed by 12345, baseball, dragon and football.

Nine out of the top 25 worst passwords consisted of simple, easy to guess numbers, which has been a common citing in the past lists.

However, iloveyou did not make the cut in the 2014 list.

SplashData CEO Morgan Slain said: "Passwords based on simple patterns on your keyboard remain popular despite how weak they are."

"Any password using numbers alone should be avoided, especially sequences."

"As more websites require stronger passwords or combinations of letters and numbers, longer keyboard patterns are becoming common passwords, and they are still not secure."

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The firm also advises internet users against the usage of their favorite sport, birthdays or birth years for passwords.

Online security expert Mark Burnett said: "The good news is that it appears that more people are moving away from using these passwords."

"In 2014, the top 25 passwords represented about 2.2% of passwords exposed. While still frightening, that’s the lowest percentage of people using the most common passwords I have seen in recent studies."

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