Shocking Password Trends of 2024: Are You Guilty of Using These?

In a world where digital security is paramount, it’s astounding to discover that many individuals still resort to using weak passwords that are easily crackable. The latest annual report from NordPass, a renowned password management company, reveals the most popular “dumb” passwords of 2024, based on breached data across various platforms.

Since compiling these lists for the past six years, NordPass has analyzed an extensive range of compromised passwords, not only from personal accounts but also corporate entities. This year’s report is drawn from data across 44 countries, shedding light on the global password culture.

The findings illustrate a captivating (and concerning) trend in password choices. For instance, while Canadians gravitate towards “qwerty123,” Americans seem to favor “secret.” Yet, the universal king of poor password choices remains “123456,” which continues to top the charts across the globe.

Here’s a glimpse of the Top 20 most common passwords used across 44 countries:

Top 20 Most Common Passwords

1. 123456 2. 123456789 3. 12345678 4. password 5. qwerty123 6. qwerty1 7. 111111 8. 12345 9. secret 10. 123123 11. 1234567890 12. 1234567 13. 000000 14. qwerty 15. abc123 16. password1 17. iloveyou 18. 11111111 19. dragon

U.S. Top 20 Passwords

Focusing specifically on the United States, the habits are strikingly similar: 1. secret 2. 123456 3. password 4. qwerty123 5. qwerty1 6. 123456789 7. password1 8. 12345678 9. 12345 10. abc123 11. qwerty 12. iloveyou 13. Password 14. baseball 15. 1234567 16. 111111 17. princess 18. football 19. monkey 20. sunshine

Canada Top 20 Passwords

In Canada, the trend continues with locals favoring: 1. qwerty123 2. 123456 3. qwerty1 4. password 5. 123456789 6. 12345678 7. qwerty 8. 9-11-1961 9. secret 10. 12345 11. password1 12. abc123 13. 1234567890 14. Owerty123 15. Password 16. 1234567 17. iloveyou 18. hockey 19. 123123 20. canada

Mexico Top 20 Passwords

Interestingly, in Mexico, users also seem to opt for similar patterns: 1. 123456 2. 123456789 3. qwerty123 4. qwerty1 5. 12345678 6. 12345 7. password 8. 1234567890 9. 1234567 10. qwerty 11. pokemon 12. contrase 13. alejandro 14. america 15. hola 16. carlos 17. Qwerty123 18. Qwerty1! 19. 123123 20. 1234561

While some entries, such as "hockey" in Canada, make sense, others, like "9-11-1961," raise eyebrows. The significance of this date as a password remains unclear, and a Google search might not yield any concrete answers.

Additionally, the report highlights peculiarities in corporate password usage, with one password, “aaron431,” making it to the top five in the U.S. corporate sector. This anomaly suggests a potential massive breach where default passwords from a prominent corporation could have skewed the data significantly.

In a digital age rife with threats, it's crucial to take password security seriously. Are you unwittingly playing with fire by using one of these weak passwords? It might be time to reassess your security habits to protect your valuable information. Share your thoughts on this year’s list - did your go-to password make the cut?