Millions of people at risk of data breaches due to using common passwords, research finds
Millions of people around the world are continuing to use passwords such as “12345” and “password” despite the increasing risk of data breaches and cyberattacks. Research conducted by an investigative team from Cybernews has found that of more than 15 billion publicly leaked passwords it analysed, only 2 billion were considered unique. The password “123456” was the most commonly used password, with “123456789”, “qwerty”, “password” and “12345” all featuring in the top five. Watch the latest news and stream for free on 7plus >> Almost ten million people used the year 2010 in their password , followed by 1987 and 1991. “The spike in 2010 usage in passwords could indicate parents whose child was born in that specific year or other special occasions,” Cybernews said. It also said a steady increase in the usage of years from 1940 to 1990 could directly relate to when the password creators were born. Alex was found to be the most popular name, with over 7 million people featuring it...