Revealed: Top 20 most-used passwords in India and time taken to crack them

Creating a robust password can be a challenging task, but ensuring the security of your emails, online banking information, and streaming platform credentials against potential hackers makes the effort worthwhile. NordPass, the password management tool developed by the team behind NordVPN, collaborated with independent researchers to unveil its study on the 200 most common passwords used in 2023.

According to the study, the most prevalent password, "123456," can likely be cracked by a hacker in less than a second. The study, conducted in collaboration with independent cybersecurity experts, revealed that approximately 4.5 million accounts were secured with the password "123456," as stated on the website of the Panama-based company.

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According to the study findings on the company's website, the second and third most popular passwords were "admin" and "12345678," employed in approximately 4 million and 1.37 million accounts, respectively.

In India, the most prevalent password was "123456," present in around 360,000 accounts, followed by "admin," utilized in approximately 120,000 accounts.

Among the world's 20 most common passwords, a staggering 17 can be cracked in less than a second, underscoring the importance of reconsidering choices like "123456" or the more creative yet equally vulnerable "password" when fortifying your online accounts.

The prevalence of lazily chosen passwords persists, despite the escalating cybersecurity threats that affected over 53 million US citizens in the first half of 2022, as per AAG data.

According to the NordPass study, a staggering 86 percent of cyberattacks involve stolen credentials, and online accounts, emails, and passwords constitute nearly 20 percent of the most commonly traded items on the dark web.

The research team examined passwords from a 6.6-terabyte database, acquired through various stealer malware like Redline, Vidar, Taurus, Raccoon, Azorult, and Cryptbot, according to the study. The malware logs contained passwords along with the source website, and the researchers' database encompassed data from up to 35 countries.

NordPass quoted the researchers while saying that "while passwords are getting harder to breach due to rapidly evolving technologies, malware attacks are still seen as a prominent threat for account security."

To safeguard your data, it's crucial to be aware of India's top 20 most common passwords of 2023 and the time it takes to crack each one:

1. 123456 - Time needed to crack: less than 1 second

2. admin - Time needed to crack: less than 1 second

3. 12345678 - Time needed to crack: less than 1 second

4. 12345 - Time needed to crack: less than 1 second

5. password - Time needed to crack: less than 1 second

6. Pass@123 - Time needed to crack: 5 minutes

7. 123456789 - Time needed to crack: less than 1 second

8. Admin@123 - Time needed to crack: 1 year

9. India@123 - Time needed to crack: 3 hours

10. admin@123 - Time needed to crack: 34 minutes

11. Pass@1234 - Time needed to crack: 17 minutes

12. 1234567890 - Time needed to crack: less than 1 second

13. Abcd@1234 - Time needed to crack: 17 minutes

14: Welcome@123 - Time needed to crack: 10 minutes

15. Abcd@123 - Time needed to crack: 17 minutes

16: admin123 - Time needed to crack: 11 seconds

17. administrator - Time needed to crack: 1 second

18. Password@123 - Time needed to crack: 2 minutes

19. Password - Time needed to crack: less than 1 second

20. UNKNOWN - Time needed to crack: 17 minutes

The password management company recommended users to employ intricate passwords with a minimum length of 20 characters, incorporating a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special symbols. NordPass also cautioned against the practice of reusing the same password across multiple websites or services, emphasizing that compromising one account could jeopardize the security of all other accounts.

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Additionally, NordPass advocated for the routine evaluation of passwords to ensure their robustness and encouraged users to enhance them for a more secure online experience. The company also endorsed the use of password managers, including its own platform.