Are Your Passwords on This List?

Some things never change and, unfortunately, picking bad passwords that put you at risk of identity theft seems to be among them. For the sixth straight year, “123456” and “password” are at the top of the annual Worst Passwords List according to SplashData, the password management company that releases the annual list of the worst of the worst passwords.

The 2016 list is compiled from more than 5 million leaked passwords held primarily by users in North America and Western Europe that were posted or for sale on the Internet. Slightly more than 10 percent of people used one of the passwords on the list and “123456” was used by almost 4 percent.

Here are the top ten risky passwords that made the 2016 list:

1. 123456

2. password

3. 12345

4. 12345678

5. football

6. qwerty

7. 1234567890

8. 1234567

9. princess

10. 1234

A few others further down the rankings that leave us scratching our heads: “welcome,” “abc123,” and “loveme.” And, variations such as “passw0rd” and “password1” will not fool hackers. “Making minor modifications to an easily guessable password does not make it secure, and hackers will take advantage of these tendencies,” says Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData.

When will we be able to quit coming up with passwords? Probably not anytime soon. However, turning on 2-Step verification for accounts such as Google adds an extra layer of security. While using fingerprint logins are convenient, this Verge article, along with many others, points out that fingerprints can be reproduced with a dental mold or a 3D-printed mold.  

Keep in mind that the cost of password security breaches could cost $6 trillion by 2020, according to an article in Infosecurity Magazine that cites a report from Thycotic and Cybersecurity Ventures on password security. 

If one of your passwords is still “123456,” it’s time to change it. Seriously.

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