Are you hackable? 10 common passwords and why to avoid them

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – With global growth in online learning, an increase in digital banking usage and online grocery sales increasing, it may be a good idea to take a fresh look at leaked common passwords.

Cybernews Investigation provided a list of 2022’s most common password patterns every day people were using in creating their own passwords:

The data is from publicly leaked data breaches, including the Breach Compilation, Collection #1-5 and other databases.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says to consider length and complexity when it comes to creating passwords and has developed specific guidelines for strong passwords. According to the NIST, you should consider using the longest password or passphrase permissible (8–64 characters) that includes upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.

A representative from Digital Forensics Corporation in Savannah, a certified computer forensics analyst that deals with cybercrime, said the percentage of people being hacked this year is increasing.

“I would say it’s definitely increasing, and it’s also increasing in the amount of people who, in general, think they are hacked,” they said. “A lot of people actually have their names, addresses and schools and things like that in their passwords.

The representative, who wished to remain anonymous, said there could be signs a device has been hacked: “the device getting extremely hot, dying way faster than it should be. Losing your data and information at random times. Not being able to access certain contacts, certain emails.”