‘admin’ is PH’s most used password in 2023 – study
MANILA, Philippines — “admin” is a widely-used password by Filipinos in 2023, according to a cybersecurity study, which also found that 70 percent of passwords worldwide could be cracked in “less than a second.”
A NordPass analysis showed that “admin” topped the list of 20 most commonly used passwords in the Philippines last year. It likewise indicated that Filipinos opted to use a chronological order of numbers, the word “password” itself, or the name of their service provider as a code to protect their web privacy.
Filipinos likewise expressed their emotion and favorite drinks through their password, often required in the world wide web to limit access, especially to important data.
NordPass said the study reviewed more than 6.6 terabytes of data on passcodes used globally to identify keys stolen by various stealer malware such as Redline, Vidar, Taurus, Raccoon, Azorult, and Cryptbot.
For the Philippines, the Top 20 passwords were:
The first Top 10 on the list of PH’s most used passwords were crackable in less than one second, the NordPass study noted.
A stealer malware is malicious software that breaches computers and collects sensitive data such as saved passwords and browser information. This data may fall into the hands of cybercriminals, who may either use the information to impersonate the victims or sell the collected sensitive information to others.
“Malware attacks are particularly dangerous because malware logs contain a vast amount of information about the victim. For example, malware can steal information saved in your browsers, such as passwords and other credentials, source website cookies, and autofill data. In addition to that, it can also steal files from its victim’s computer, as well as system details such as OS version or IP address,” says the NordPass study.
It added that malware attacks often exploit passwords saved on browsers.
“The scariest part is that victims might not even realize their computer is infected. Bad actors tend to hide malware in well-crafted phishing emails, imitating a legitimate organization, such as your bank or your company,” said NordPass Chief Technology Officer Tomas Smalakys.
More than 70 percent of used passwords worldwide could also be cracked in “less than a second,” with the weakest of passwords being used to secure streaming accounts, according to the analysis.
NordPass advised internet users to secure their passwords and credentials by creating long and complex passwords, avoiding storing passwords and other sensitive information on browsers, and paying closer attention to suspicious links online.
Last month, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky showed that it detected and foiled 31.35 million incidents of web threats in the Philippines between January 1 and October 26, 2023.
