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NordPass Shines Light On Poor Password Hygiene
The word “password” is the second most commonly used password by people who are in charge of important organizations.
It’s often said that people are the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, and the latest research from NordPass, a provider of the eponymous password manager, certainly confirms this.
NordPass examined over 290 million data breaches worldwide and discovered something alarming: high-ranking business executives and company owners frequently use passwords that are so laughably weak that using them is like begging to be breached.
Just take a look at the top ten most used passwords by CEOs:
| Rank | Password | Count |
| 1 | 123456 | 29,401 |
| 2 | password | 22,511 |
| 3 | 12345 | 11,867 |
| 4 | 123456789 | 10,988 |
| 5 | qwerty | 9,738 |
| 6 | 1234 | 6,520 |
| 7 | qwerty123 | 6,446 |
| 8 | 1q2w3e | 5,809 |
| 9 | 111111 | 5,487 |
| 10 | 12345678 | 5,099 |
As you can see, basic number and letter sequence combinations still dominate, and the fact that the word “password” is the second most commonly used password by people who are in charge of important organizations doesn’t really paint the current cybersecurity landscape in nice colors.
Besides these textbook examples of poor password security, high-ranking business executives and company owners are also fond of common names like “Tiffany” and “Charlie,” and they seem to like animals and mythical creatures, with “dragon” and “monkey” being the top animal- and creature-themed passwords.
Also Read: Is Your Phone Hacked? How To Find Out & Protect Yourself
“It is unbelievable how similar we all think, and this research simply confirms that,” says NordPass CEO Jonas Karklys. “Everyone from gamer teenagers to company owners are targets of cyber-crimes, and the only difference is that business entities, as a rule, pay a higher price for their unawareness,” he adds.
To better protect themselves, all employees should avoid password reuse at all costs, and a good password manager like NordPass can make this much easier. They should also turn on multi-factor authentication when possible for an added layer of security.