The UK Government’s National Cyber Security Center says some of the most-hacked passwords are common band names.
Passwords that incorporate popular music acts like blink182, metallica, slipknot, eminem, and 50cent are no good. In fact, all of those passwords have now been included in a global password risk list published by the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Center.
You can see the full list of no-go passwords online, thanks to Have I Been Pwned.
Aside from popular bands and rappers, other common passwords that should be avoided include:
- superman
- tigger
- batman
- pokemon
- ashley
- michael
- daniel
- jessica
- 123456
- qwerty
- 111111
Most of these passwords feature extreme simplicity and can be easily recalled, which makes them worthless as a security measure. 123456 is by far the most commonly used password with over 30 million hacking victims. Simple passwords only take seconds to brute force, defeating any security.
The survey was conducted on behalf of the NCSC and aims to raise public awareness about the dangers of common passwords and password re-use.
Password re-use is the main reason why 61% of data breaches occur.
It’s also astonishingly common. More than 52% of people re-use their passwords across multiple sites. Hackers often download password lists from breaches and try those passwords with their associated emails on other sites.
You can prevent these types of data breaches by using a unique password for every single site. A password manager can help you keep track of all of these passwords. Also, use two-factor authentication on all of your accounts that support it, but especially email.
1Password and Dashlane are two popular password manager apps that work across platforms.
What do the guys of Blink-182 think about your poor password choices?
Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker both tweeted the relevant CNN report with a ‘you guys’ and a shrug for their fans. Change your password if you see it on this list or find it in the pwned directory.