South Africans are still using terrible passwords

The most commonly used password in South Africa is “123456”, followed by “password” and “qwerty123”.

That’s according to NordPass, a password manager developed by the same company that makes the popular NordVPN virtual private networking software.

Other common passwords used by South African users, according to NordPass, include “Abcd1234” in fourth place and “123456789” in fifth position.

The full list, according to the company, is:

1. 123456
2. password
3. qwerty123
4. Abcd1234
5. 123456789
6. qwerty1
7. 12345
8. 12345678
9. Aa123456
10. qwerty
11. Password
12. Password1
13. 1234
14. 1234567
15. 1234567890
16. P@ssw0rd
17. 123abc
18. password1
19. 123love
20. admin

What’s even worse than these easy-to-guess passwords is that 40% of those used are identical.

NordPass, which partnered with NordStellar to run the study, concluded that this year’s list again includes the worst possible choices for passwords. And it’s not only South Africans using these easy-to-guess passwords — it’s a problem around the world.

Read: Standard Bank’s massive cybersecurity team

• Almost half the world’s most common passwords in this year’s study are made of the easiest keyboard combinations of numbers and letters, such as “qwerty”, “1q2w3e4r5t” and “123456789”. South Africa is no exception here, with such passwords leading the list.
• South Africans are not alone in choosing “123456” as their most commonly used password – this aligns with a global trend where this simple sequence remains the go-to choice in many countries.
• With experts repeatedly urging internet users to make their passwords stronger, many seem to have misunderstood the assignment. The popularity of “qwerty” has been challenged by similarly weak “qwerty123”, which is now the most common password in Canada, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Finland and Norway. In South Africa, this password also made a huge jump this year, reaching the top three.
• The word “password” can now be considered one of the most common and enduring passwords. Year after year, it ranks at the top of every country’s list. In South Africa, it is the third most used password. For the British and Australians, it is the top choice.

According to NordPass’s study, 78% of the world’s most common passwords can be cracked in less than a second. Compared to last year’s 70%, it’s clear the situation is getting worse, not better.  – © 2024 NewsCentral Media

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