UK card machine provider Dojo has conducted a study to see what type of password has been breached the most across the world.
After analysing National Cyber Security Centre data on over 100,000 exposed passwords, Dojo has dissected the breaches into more than 30 categories to see which is the most common.
From cities to brands to swear words, most people tend to use easily memorable passwords and usually the same one across multiple accounts.
According to the NCSC, obvious sequences with no personal knowledge needed to crack the password are the most common to be breached.
Here, are the top five hacked passwords with the most users:
123456 (23.2 million users)
123456789 (7.7 million users)
Qwerty (3.8 million users)
Password (3.6 million users)
1111111 (3.1 million users)
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."
But what is the most common type of password to be breached?
At the top of the list is pet names/terms of endearment . The top 20 phrases in this category were included in 4,032 of the most commonly hacked passwords studied.
The top three pet names used in passwords around the globe were Love (1,492), Baby (417) and Angel (330).
This is because people who use these terms of endearment tend to be broadcasted in public domain and social media, making it easier for hackers to guess.
Names sit second in the rankings, with the top 20 names resulting in 3,913 breaches. Sam (313), Anna (300) and Alex (240) were the most common.
Animals round off the top three with 2,112 exposed passwords in the category, with passwords including Dog (354) and Cat (265) the most frequently used.
Emotions and food are fourth and fifth respectively, with colours, swear words, actions, family members and car brands completing to the top 10 categories.
As a result of the study, Dojo has complied a list of 10 tips for better security and improve your chances of not getting hacked.
Use a mix of special characters, numbers, capital letters in passwords
Aim for a password with a minimum of 8-12 characters
Do not use personal information
Do not use obvious sequences of letters and numbers
Use a password manager
Use multi-factor authentication
Do not tell anyone your password
Do not save passwords to your browser
Do not use the same password over multiple accounts
Check whether passwords have been compromised
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