Ok, which one of you uses ‘patkenny’ as your password.
We all think that our passwords are unique to us. Who needs all of those fancy symbols and numbers when we can just use something close to our heart that surely nobody else will guess.
Well, perhaps it’s time to think again and consider bulking up our security, because using our favourite 80s Irish drama just won’t cut it anymore. New data from Cork-based company Cyber Skills has revealed the most commonly hacked passwords, and there are some very interesting ones on the list.
Among some of the main offenders include the likes of ‘liverpoolfc’ ‘fatherted’ and, weirdly enough ‘glenroe’
As Cyber Security month is underway, these common passwords have been highlighted as prime targets for cybercriminals.
Using the website HaveIBeenPwned, which houses over 613 million passwords from hacked accounts, Cyber Skills conducted a study to assess the vulnerability of certain passwords, by inputting names of prominent Irish celebrities, sports teams, and cultural content.
Dr. Hazel Murray from Cyber Skills said “What many consider a strong password, referencing cultural touchpoints, is in fact easily deciphered by cybercriminals.
“There’s a common misconception that if a password contains personal information or interests that it will be strong. Good passwords are multiple words strung together and avoid easily recognisable phrases.
“Glenroe finished over 20 years ago on TV yet it’s been used nearly 90 times in the hacked password database.”
Commonly hacked passwords revealed as Irish internet users urged to strengthen security
One piece of advice from Cyber Skills is to use at least 10 characters in your password, making it significantly harder for criminals to crack it.
Along with the advice, they also disclosed some of the most common Irish passwords which were found to be hacked and, quite frankly, some of them are ridiculous.
Here’s a list of the best examples and how many times they’ve been found:
- manunited – 33,000 times
- liverpoolfc – 22,000 times
- manchesterunited – 11,086 times
- langer – 3961 times
- riverdance – 2047 times
- gobshite – 1542 times
- sinnfein – 1530 times
- fatherted – 1207 times
- achtungbaby – 1001 times
- thecranberries – 195 times
- zigandzag – 185 times
- lordofthedance – 151 times
- ​​Maniac2000 – 115 times
- podgeandrodge – 70 times
- patkenny – 36 times
- winningstreak – 36 times
- mayforsam – 33 times
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