Millions using 123456 as password on sensitive accounts: Reports

According to a new study by UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), most of the people are still using passwords like 123456 on the sensitive account.

As per the study, the most regular concern is money being stolen - with 42 percent feeling is likely to happen by 2021.

It said 70 percent believe they will likely be a victim of at least one specific type of cybercrime over the next two years, and most feel there would be a big personal impact.

NCSC also noted that only 15 percent say they know a great deal about how to protect themselves online. Younger and more affluent respondents are more aware and more likely to take protective actions.

For its first survey, the NCSC urges using 3 random and memorable words for a strong password.

Margot James, DMCS' Digital and Creative Industries Minister, said: "Cybersecurity is a serious issue, but there are some simple actions everyone can take to better protect against hackers."

"Cyber breaches can cause huge financial and emotional heartache through theft or loss of data which we should all endeavor to prevent," James said.

Meanwhile, NCSC pointed out the top of the list was 123456, appearing in more than 23 million passwords. The second-most popular string, 123456789, was not much harder to crack, while others in the top five included "qwerty", "password" and 1111111.

The most common name to be used in passwords was Ashley, followed by Michael, Daniel, Jessica, and Charlie, the report found.

Furthermore, when it comes to Premier leagues people are using passwords like Liverpool are champions and Chelsea are second. Blink-182 topped the charts of music acts.

Troy Hunt said, "Recognising the passwords that are most likely to result in a successful account takeover is an important first step in helping people create a more secure online presence."

Source: