New research reveals passwords most vulnerable to data breaches
The password combination "123456" emerged as the most commonly cracked password in Singapore, according to a new report from Preply.
Its latest report revealed that the password combination took only less than a second to crack, and has appeared in more than 42.5 million data breaches in Singapore.
"Despite being one of the simplest combinations, its sheer popularity makes it a prime target for hackers," the report read.
Other password combinations that took less than a second to crack, as well as appeared the most times in data breaches include:
The report described the appearance of the word "password" in the list as predictable.
"This term highlights a critical flaw in password selection—using common words is an open invitation for cybercriminals," it noted.
According to the report, 96% of most commonly hacked passwords are under 10 characters, underscoring the need for a more complex and lengthy password combination to enhance security.
Passwords are regarded as a vulnerable point for many organisations, where common and predictable passwords can result in company breaches.
Last year, LingoAce received a financial penalty of $74,000 from Singapore's Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) after the personal details of 557,000 users, including current and former employees, were compromised as a result of a weak password.
The password, as found by the PDPC, was "lingoace213" and was used by an administrator account of the organisation's operations support system.
The rise of AI may also threaten password security for organisations, according to a report from Singapore's Cyber Security Agency last year.
It noted that there are malicious tools that are capable of cracking over half of the common passwords in under 60 seconds.
"AI can also be used in brute force attacks to automate and quickly cycle through an immense number of password combinations, thereby increasing the speed of cracking a password," the report read.
Preply said a strong and secure password is the first line of defence against hackers. To craft a stronger password, it suggested the following:
Yolanda Del Peso, language expert, also suggested using characters from different languages in the password.
"Password-cracking tools often rely on common word lists and dictionaries across popular languages, but they're less effective when facing a password with unfamiliar characters and scripts," Del Peso said in a statement. "However, it's important to ensure your characters are compatible, as not all systems and devices support every character type."
