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• Managing Passwords & Pins

Most Common Passwords

1. 123456
2. 123456789
3. 12345678
4. password
5. qwerty123
6. qwerty1
7. 111111
8. 12345
9. secret
10. 123123

The full top 200 list and how fast it can be cracked is with . If you use any of these passwords on any account, CHANGE IT!

UNDER LOCK AND KEY

Creating strong passwords offers greater security for minimal effort

You can buy a small padlock for less than a dollar鈥攂ut you shouldn鈥檛 count on it to protect anything of value. A thief could probably pick a cheap lock without much effort, or simply break it. And yet, many people use similarly flimsy passwords to 鈥渓ock up鈥� their most valuable assets, including money and confidential information.

Fortunately, everyone can learn how to make and manage stronger passwords. It鈥檚 an easy way to strengthen security both at work and at home.

What Makes a Password 鈥楽trong鈥�?

Let鈥檚 say you need to create a new password that鈥檚 at least 12 characters long, and includes numerals, symbols, and upper- and lowercase letters. You think of a word you can remember, capitalize the first letter, add a digit, and end with an exclamation point. The result: Strawberry1!

Unfortunately, hackers have sophisticated password-breaking tools that can easily defeat passwords based on dictionary words (like 鈥渟trawberry鈥�) and common patterns, such as capitalizing the first letter.

Increasing a password鈥檚 complexity, randomness, and length can make it more resistant to hackers鈥� tools. For example, an eight-character password could be guessed by an attacker in less than a day, but a 12-character password would take two weeks. A 20-character password would take 21 centuries.

You can learn more about creating strong passwords in your organization鈥檚 security awareness training. Your organization may also have guidelines or a password policy in place.

Why Uniqueness Matters

Many people reuse passwords across multiple accounts, and attackers take advantage of this risky behavior. If an attacker obtains one password鈥攅ven a strong one鈥攖hey can often use it to access other valuable accounts.

Here鈥檚 a real-life example: Ten years ago, Alice joined an online gardening forum. She also created an online payment account and used the same password. She soon forgot about the gardening forum, but someone accessed her payments account years later and stole a large sum of money.

Alice didn鈥檛 realize the gardening forum had been hacked, and that users鈥� login credentials had been leaked online. An attacker probably tried reusing Alice鈥檚 leaked password on popular sites鈥攁nd eventually got lucky.

Guarding Your Passwords

1. Don鈥檛 write them down 鈥� Many make the mistake of writing passwords on post-it notes and leaving them in plain sight. Even if you hide your password, someone could still find it. Similarly, don鈥檛 store your login information in a file on your computer, even if you encrypt that file.
2. Don鈥檛 share passwords 鈥� You can鈥檛 be sure someone else will keep your credentials safe. At work, you could be held responsible for anything that happens when someone is logged in as you.
3. Don鈥檛 save login details in your browser 鈥� Some browsers store this information in unsafe ways, and another person could access your accounts if they get your device.

TIPS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Consider sharing what you鈥檝e learned about passwords and ask family and friends about their cybersecurity knowledge or experiences.

1. Never reuse passwords 鈥� Create a unique, strong password for each account or device. This way, a single hacked account doesn鈥檛 endanger other accounts.
2. Create complex, long passwords 鈥� Passwords based on dictionary words, pets鈥� names, or other personal information can be guessed by attackers.
3. Use a password manager 鈥� These tools can securely store and manage your passwords and generate strong new passwords. Some can also alert you if a password may have been compromised.

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