If you are still using '123456' as your password, change it: Research

It is 2020, and yet we struggle to find out that perfect password that would match the extensive safety requirements and also not skip our brain. And in the end, we settle down with our birthdays, anniversaries and — believe it or not — '123456'.

New research conducted by NordPass, a password management company, has recently revealed that people are still using easy-to-hack passwords such as '123456' and 'password' even after so many years of warnings.

Also read| Canada facing cyber security threat from China, Russia state-sponsored programs: Report

The researchers compiled a list of most recent passwords used in 2020 and compared it to the list from 2019, and the passwords have not seen any drastic change. This poses a major threat of cyber hacking and bullying — an issue which has seen increased victims in the past few years, especially during the pandemic.

A third party, which specialises in data breach research, studied the users' activities and compiled a list of nearly 275,699,516 passwords. While majority passwords have not changed, the two new additions to the top 10 passwords list are 'picture1' and 'senha' which translates to 'password' in the Portuguese language.

Also read| Apple to reduce its App Store fees for small developers

The most used password is '123456', with '123456789' in the second place, followed by 'picture1' and 'password'. Interestingly, people are still using '111111' too as their passwords.

NordPass has urged people to change their passwords and avoid dictionary words, predictable number combinations, or strings of adjacent keyboard combinations to make sure they do not fall prey to cybercrime.

The researchers have also suggested people change their passwords every 90 days, and always have different passwords for different accounts, with a mix of the upper and lower case.