Almost 60% of passwords can be cracked in less than an hour

In the study, analysts tested the security of passwords using brute force and intelligent cracking algorithms. Brute force searches in order for all possible character combinations, and intelligent algorithms are trained on a password database and are able to calculate the frequency of various character combinations. Additionally, they even take character substitutions into account, so typing “pa$$word” instead of “password” or “@dmin” instead of “admin” will not strengthen the password.

57% of the analyzed passwords contain an existing word in the dictionary, which significantly reduces their resistance to hacking: names: “ahmed”, “nguyen”, “kumar”, “kevin”, “daniel”, popular words: “forever”, “love”, “gamer”, “admin”, “password”, common combinations are “qwerty12345”, “12345”.

The company’s experts also reminded the rules for creating and storing passwords:

• It’s difficult to remember long, unique passwords for all the services you use, but if you use a password manager, you only need to remember the master password;
• Use different passwords for each service. In this case, even if access to one of the accounts is stolen, the others will not be compromised;
• Passphrases will be more secure if you use unexpected words, and if you use common words, you can put them in an unusual order and make sure they are not related.
• do not include personal data in passwords, such as birthdays, family names, pet names or your own name, attackers “break” such combinations very quickly;
• Enable two-factor authentication on all services when possible. While not directly related to password security, enabling 2FA adds an extra layer of security.
• Use a trusted security solution – it will notify you if a breach occurs and remind you to change your password.