This is the most commonly used password in India, and it can be cracked in less than a second

Experts have been warning internet users not to use such easy combinations because they take less than a second to crack, but millions worldwide still seem to be using simple variations like “qwerty123”, which happens to be the most common password in countries like the Netherlands, Finland, Canada and Lithuania. This password has also made its way into the list of the top 10 most commonly used passwords in India.

Another popular choice is the word “password” itself. Not only has this phrase found its place on the most commonly used password list in the past few years, but this time, it happens to be the second most used password in India. It also happens to be the top choice for people living in Australia and the United Kingdom.

When it comes to India, the study said “passwords show a mix of simplicity and a hint of cultural personalisation.” like using “Indya123” instead of “India123”. Other popular choices include the words “admin” and “abcd1234,” which is similar to previous year’s trend of using easy patterns.

The NordPass study also suggests that almost 78 per cent of the world’s most common passwords can be cracked in less than a second. This indicates that the situation regarding password safety has worsened a bit as last year, the percentage of such passwords was at 70 per cent.

Corporate passwords are just as unsafe

The research claimed that almost 40 per cent of the most common passwords used by individuals and business representatives were the same.

However, there is a difference when it comes to the most used paraphrases, with business users preferring default passwords like “newmember,” “newpass,” “newuser,” and “welcome” to name a few. Another interesting thing to note is that when a new account is created for a company employee with passwords like “admin” and “temppass,” most users tend to stick with them, which is one of the leading causes for intrusions.

Another reason why hackers are successful at breaking into an employee’s work account is because many use the same password for both personal and work accounts.

How to be safe

To protect your account credentials, make sure you use strong passwords or passphrases, ideally at least 20 characters long. Some studies have shown that long passwords with a mixture of random combinations of numbers, letters and special symbols have a significantly low chance of being cracked.

Also, make sure you avoid reusing passwords for different accounts and setting up multi-factor or two-factor authentication wherever possible. This ensures the safety of your other accounts in case one of them is hacked. If you find it hard to remember these complex passwords, use any of the free password managers available on the internet.

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