Most common passwords Aussies use, revealed

Nord Security has found that a surprisingly large number of Aussies are still using predictable passwords and common combinations to protect their personal information.

The cyber security firm reveals the top 20 passwords used in Australia and just how easy the combinations are to crack. The global security firm has found an astonishing number of Australians continue to use predictable combinations to protect their personal information.

The most common passwords used by Aussies are shockingly weak and predictable passwords.

The firm found "123456" was the most common password used by Australians, with the combination recorded a whopping 308,000 times.

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The second most preferred password was simply "password", which featured 191,800 times and would take a hacker just one second to crack.

Coming in third was "lizottes", a slightly less common combination that was used 98,220 times and would take three hours to unlock.

The analysis also found people were fond of using their names as passwords with "Charlie" ranking in at 11, and "Michael" at 28.

Nord Security found Australia ranked high on its risk index compared to other countries across the globe.

The index measures the number of passwords leaked per capita, split into three categories: low, average and high.

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The use of predictable passwords in Australia comes amid the Optus data breach, which has compromised the personal information of up to 9.8 million customers.

The firm advised creating a complex password containing 12 characters with a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, to keep hackers at bay.

"A single password for multiple accounts is a hacker's delight," Nord Security researchers said.

"If only one of the accounts is compromised, consider all your other accounts jeopardised."

To add another layer of protection, the firm recommended never to use the same combination on multiple platforms and to change passwords every 90 days.

Most Common Passwords used in Australia in 2021:

123456 – less than one second to crack – used 308,483 times
password – less than one second to crack – used 191,880 times
lizottes – three hours to crack – used 98,220 times
password1 – less than one second to crack – used 86,884 times
123456789 – less than one second to crack – used 75,856 times
12345 – less than one second to crack – used 69,344 times
abc123 – less than one second to crack – used 68,434 times
qwerty – less than one second to crack – used 67,130 times
12345678 – less than one second to crack – used 37,675 times
holden – two minutes to crack – used 30,844 times
charlie - less than one second to crack – used 30,527 times
1234567 – less than one second to crack – used 28,059 times
qwerty1 – less than one second to crack – used 27,088 times
111111 – less than one second to crack – used 26,481 times
dragon – less than one second to crack – used 26,473 times
1234 – less than one second to crack – used 26,145 times
1234567890 – less than one second to crack – used 23,511 times
qwerty123 – less than one second to crack – used 23,409 times
australia – six seconds to crack – used 21,666 times
princess – less than one second to crack – used 21,660 times

Nord Security compiled a list of 200 passwords used in 2021, ranking them by the number of times they have been used.

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