A recent study by Kaspersky found that 45% of 193 million compromised English passwords could be hacked in less than a minute.
In contrast, 23% would take more than a year to crack.
The study analyzed passwords found on the darknet, highlighting the importance of better digital habits and timely password updates.
Kaspersky’s data showed over 32 million attempts to steal passwords in 2023.
Most of the passwords they looked at were easily guessed using smart algorithms.
About 57% of these passwords contained common words from dictionaries, making them weaker.
These often included names and popular words.
Only 19% of the passwords were strong, containing a mix of non-dictionary words, uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
However, even with strong combinations, 39% could still be guessed in under an hour using advanced algorithms.
Hackers use powerful laptops and modern video cards to crack passwords quickly.
They also use smart algorithms that consider character replacements and popular sequences.
People often create passwords with common words, names, and numbers, making them predictable.
Kaspersky’s expert, Novikova, advised using modern password managers to generate and store random, strong passwords securely.
