Do YOU use one of these passwords? If so, you must change your login NOW

Security experts are warning over 34million people that the passwords they use are at risk from bad actors. The new study from card machine provider Dojo analyses data on 100,000 breached passwords from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). And Dojo has discovered the top types of passwords that are vulnerable to attacks from hackers.

At risk passwords have been grouped into categories, with the most hacked passwords being ones based on pet names or terms of endearment.

The top three pet names used in passwords around the world were ‘Love’, ‘Baby’ and ‘Angel’.

The second most vulnerable type of passwords are ones based on names itself, followed by animals, emotions and foods.

The most commonly used names in passwords that are easily guessable for hackers are ‘Sam’, ‘Anna’ and ‘Alex’ while passwords that use animal names like ‘Dog’ and ‘Cat’ are also vulnerable.

Additionally, NCSC data has revealed the five most commonly used hacked passwords.

And, as has been the case for a long time, easy to remember phrase (and by the same nature easily guessable passwords) like ‘123456’ and ‘Password’ are among the most vulnerable logins.

Here are the top five commonly hacked passwords with the most users:

1. 123456 (23.2million users)

2. 123456789 (7.7million users)

3. Qwerty (3.8million users)

4. Password (3.6million users)

5. 1111111 (3.1million users)

Speaking about the findings, Naveed Islam, chief information security officer at Dojo, said: “Passwords are the digital keys for just about everything on the Web, from checking emails to online banking. The surge in online services has resulted in a proliferation of password usage. This has resulted in password fatigue – the feeling experienced by many people who are required to remember an excessive number of passwords as part of their daily routine. To cope with password fatigue, people reuse the same password across multiple websites, using simple and predictable password creation strategies. Attackers exploit these well-known coping strategies, leaving individuals vulnerable.

“Using a password manager to create unique passwords and using multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all websites are some of the recommended ways to improve password security and make it difficult for attackers to steal your passwords and access your data.

“Frequently check a breach notification site to see if any of your passwords have been leaked in any data breaches. If it has, change your password for that account immediately.”

Besides using most commonly used passwords, hackers can break into people’s accounts via a number of ways – such as using social engineering and phishing scams to trick people into handing over their logins and using passwords from data breaches (which are used for other accounts) to access sensitive details.

If you’re wondering how to keep yourself safe from any hacking attempts firstly be aware of emails you get from out of the blue asking you to change your logins or head to a website to urgently login to an account to rectify an issue.

A quick glance at where the email in question was sent from can save you a lot of hassle, as oftentimes you’ll see the sender hasn’t disguised their address well and the message in question isn’t from an official email address related to the organisation you’re thinking it’s from.

If you’re in any doubt then you can also contact the firm a scammer is posing as directly via their official website to ask about what you’ve been sent.

Dojo has also created some Dos and Don’ts to help you create a cast-iron password that will keep you safe from hackers…