Hacker issues UK password warning – if your code is on this list, change it now

Despite endless warnings, millions of people still make simple mistakes when it comes to online safety. With countless accounts to manage, such as email, shopping sites, social networks and public services, it’s no surprise that many of us choose passwords that are easy to remember, but this habit is very dangerous with recent statistics suggesting that the annual cost of cybercrime is expected. to reach over £7m this year alone. It is believed that 1 in 5 (20%) of all Britons only have one or two passwords for all their online logins and this makes life all too easy for cybercriminals.

To highlight the dangers, a so-called “ethical hacker” has issued a worrying warning. Joe Cockroft, a cyber expert who is trained to hack complex systems and understand how cybercriminals carry out attacks, says it’s vital to protect your online platforms and make sure your accounts are as hard to crack as possible.

“Using identifiable information, such as a favorite football team, the names of family members or the city you live in, can make passwords easier to determine,” Cockroft explained.

“While this information may be easy to remember, it could also be easy for threat actors to figure out after a short period of time by browsing your social media profiles, for example. The list of the most common NordPass passwords shows the popularity of football teams for uk passwords as well as how many passwords have no complexity and are often a single word.Threat actors often use a list of thousands or millions of words to help them crack the your password

“The National Cybersecurity Center advises that regularly changing passwords can cause more harm than good. Instead, it suggests that better password hygiene is more sufficient to protect accounts. However, passwords should be changed immediately if a compromise is suspected or known”.

If you use passwords like “123456” or “password” (yes, people still have those passwords) then you need to act now or you could be at risk as these are still some of the most used codes in the UK.

Here are the top 10 UK passwords you MUST NOT use.

• 123456

• password

• qwerty

• Liverpool

• 123456789

• arsenal

• 12345678

• 12345

• abc123

• Chelsea

If you’re not sure what’s best, here are some top tips to help protect your accounts and keep your data away from prying eyes.

HERE ARE SOME TOP TIPS TO SECURE YOUR ACCOUNTS

• Always use complex passwords as they are more difficult to crack. Try adding extra characters and numbers to your codes.

“A short password with a mix of numbers, symbols and letters will be easier to compromise than a long password with only letters and spaces,” Cockroft explained.

• You need more than one code. Reusing the same password for multiple accounts makes life easier for you, but also for hackers.

Elaborating further, Cockroft said: “Using the same password on multiple sites puts the security of multiple accounts at risk and should be avoided.

“Note that threat actors may be able to decipher this pattern after observing one or more compromised passwords.”

• Use multi-factor authentication and check if your codes have been leaked in recent data thefts.

These are two good tips, as multi-factor authentication ensures that no one can access an account without you being notified. Checking for leaks will also give you a chance to change things before hackers get to your accounts.