Your password is probably RUBBISH, says new survey

Almost 75 per cent of Britons are securing their online information with easy-to-hack passwords

VULNERABLE passwords remain the weakest link in online security – and three quarters of Britons are using them, a government survey has found.

 

Most internet users have very vulnerable passwords, according to a new survey.

 

A government survey started in October 2014 as part of the Cyber Streetwise campaign has found that three quarters of Britons use passwords that are not secure.

Britons are risking their personal information being stolen by hackers by using predictable passwords, including a pet's name, place of birth or something related to a favourite sports team.

 

This troubling security flaw echoes a survey of the most common passwords of last year, collated from millions of pieces of stolen login data logged throughout 2014, which found the most common passwords to be "123456" and "password".

See the full list of the most popular passwords of the last year.

Weak passwords can give hackers quick and easy access to online profiles.

Many security experts believe the so-called iCloud hack, which saw hundreds of naked pictures of Hollywood A listers including Jennifer Lawrence and Kelly Brook leaked online, took place because of vulnerable passwords.

 

Mark James, an IT security specialist for anti-virus firm ESET, said that internet users need to do more to protect their data, rather than solely relying on the technology companies they store information with.

"We have to take some responsibility," he said.

"We need to always examine and evaluate what data is being uploaded by default and ask ourselves do we really need to store this data in the cloud? 

"If we do then we have to take responsibility and ensure we use complex unique passwords, it's your data, and it's your life it affects if that data goes missing.

Creating and using good passwords is not rocket science."