Stephen: How common is your password?

Happy World Password Day! Now more than ever, a secure password is so important because, without it, digital trespassers could gain access to the most sensitive parts of your life, like banking and personal information, private media, and social media accounts. According to NordPass, the top 10 most used passwords in Canada are:

1. 123456
2. password
3. 54321
4. 123456789
5. guest
6. qwerty
7. 12345678
8. 1234567
9. 12345
10. abc123

In the last year, almost three quarters of this list has remained unchanged and over 80% of the passwords can be cracked by bad actors in less than one second. NordPass suggests that people tend to go for convenience when creating a password, something they can easily remember in a pinch. That’s why things like “123456” and “password” consistently appear near the top of the list, as well as sports team names or other pop culture-related passwords and people’s names.

In order to use tougher to guess/crack passwords, it is suggested that people use unique passwords for all their accounts, be aware of all the accounts they have, and to use a password manager which allows someone to use more complex passwords without having to remember them. The graphic below from Hive Systems illustrates how long it takes a password to be hacked based on how complex it is.

It’s World Password Day and we’re inviting you to join us for our next Hive LIVE on the 18th where we’ll tell you how we developed our 2023 Password Table.
May the Fourth be with you, unless you’re a wookie. pic.twitter.com/lvwAH6bXDu

— Hive Systems (@hivesystems) May 4, 2023