Dear internet user, any of these common passwords is sure to get you hacked

·
July 9, 2015
·
2 min read

I get it, we all hate passwords. Still, they are a necessary annoyance that we have to bear. Because seriously, no one wants to  get hacked.

But if you asked me, I'd say that 9 out of every 10 times someone gets "hacked", it's 100% their fault. With the kind of lazy passwords making rounds around the internet, we are our biggest hindrance to a safer internet. Even wannabe hackers are having it a lot easier these days. Earlier this year, Internet security firm, SplashData, released a list of the most popular passwords of 2014. I’ve personally lost count of how many facepalms I’ve had to do going through the list:

passwords-hacked

123456 and password – retain their top spot from last year. I mean, how lazy has humanity become that these 2 phrases continue to be the most popular passwords? Interestingly in the recent Hacking Team fiasco, of which the Bayelsa State Government was implicated, it was revealed that the head of the victimized surveillance company used many variations of "password" as his password for every system. This is a Security Engineer who is supposed to know better

Advertisement

Another common password – iloveyou – saw less love in 2014 as it fell off the top list, from number 9 last year, to be replaced by trustno1. It appears there was probably less love to go round in 2014. Other top worst passwords include new entrants batmanand 696969, joined by 12345678, monkeyqwerty and 16 others.

You can view the full list of passwords here. Are you guilty of using any of these passwords? Perhaps it’s time to review them. If you really cherish your online safety, that is.

READ MORE   Some evidence suggests Bayelsa State Government hacks its citizens
I bully myself because I make me do what I put my mind to. Find me on Twitter @MuyoSan.
I bully myself because I make me do what I put my mind to. Find me on Twitter @MuyoSan.
Subscribe To Techpoint Digest
Join thousands of subscribers to receive our fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.
This is A daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, sent directly to your email inbox, between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m (WAT) every week day! 
Digest Subscription

Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.

I bully myself because I make me do what I put my mind to. Find me on Twitter @MuyoSan.
Other Stories
43b, Emina Cres, Allen, Ikeja.

 Techpremier Media Limited. All rights reserved
magnifier