{"id":1273,"date":"2020-11-20T03:51:12","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T03:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1328874"},"modified":"2020-11-20T03:51:12","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T03:51:12","slug":"pardon-the-intrusion-31-stop-using-123456-as-your-password","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=1273","title":{"rendered":"Pardon the Intrusion #31: Stop using \u201c123456\u201d as your password"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Subscribe to this bi-weekly newsletter here<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Welcome to the latest edition of Pardon The Intrusion, TNW\u2019s <\/span>bi-weekly newsletter<\/a> in which we explore the wild world of security.<\/p>\n

And the yearly ritual continues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The list of <\/span>worst passwords for 2020<\/a> is here, and it\u2019s every bit awful as you would expect.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to an analysis of 275,699,516 passwords by <\/span>NordPass<\/a>, a password manager service from the makers of NordVPN, it\u2019s becoming amply clear that a lot of people are still banking on simple, easy-to-guess passwords despite the constant threat of data breaches and other security threats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coming in at number one is \u201c123456,\u201d and it was used 2,543,285 times. Ouch!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c123456789,\u201d \u201cpicture1,\u201d \u201cpassword,\u201d and \u201c12345678\u201d round up the remaining top four spots, with \u201cpicture1\u201d being the lone new entrant that would take about three hours to crack using a brute-force attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

But a password combination of letters and numbers is still a weak password as long as it can be deciphered.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cYour weak password can be used for credential stuffing attacks, where the breached logins are used to gain unauthorized access to user accounts,\u201d says Chad Hammond, security expert at NordPass.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you fall victim to a credential stuffing attack, you might lose your Facebook or another important account with all its content. Also, your email address could be used for phishing attacks or for scamming your family and friends, who may very well fall for it, as the email will supposedly be coming from you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I get it. Remembering <\/span>unique<\/a>, <\/span>strong<\/a> <\/span>passwords<\/a> for a gazillion online accounts isn\u2019t easy, especially this year with the shift to remote work.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a separate study published by NordPass last month, an average user was revealed to have around 100 passwords, up 25% from last year. That\u2019s a lot to keep track of!<\/span><\/p>\n

So what can be done to beef up your security? Use a password manager and turn on two-factor authentication wherever possible. At the same time, don\u2019t <\/span>make the same mistake<\/a> I did by not noting down the backup codes.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s trending in security?<\/span><\/h3>\n

US President Trump <\/span>fired the director<\/a> of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, <\/span>Bumble<\/a> and <\/span>Cisco<\/a> fixed critical bugs, and Zoom agreed to <\/span>enhance its security policies<\/a> after falsely claiming its video calls were protected by end-to-end encryption.<\/span><\/p>\n