The computer engineering student Ata Hakçıl analyzed username and password combinations used in data breaches at various companies found out that one in 142 passwords leaked in data breaches is “123456.”.
In one of the biggest password re-use studies of its kind, an analysis of more than one billion leaked credentials has discovered that one out of every 142 passwords is the classic “123456” string. This poor cyber hygiene, combined with the recently-reported increases in cyberattacks and the likelihood that remote work will be prolonged due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a sign that organizations of all sizes are more vulnerable to hacks and breaches than previously thought.
While the results of this research are startling, they’re certainly not surprising as cyber hygiene has long been a struggle for organizations of all sizes. However, what’s frightening now is the amount of information that remote employees have access to via cloud apps like Microsoft 365 and Google Docs. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there’s been an alarming rise in cyberattacks and coupling that increase with poor password hygiene has created a recipe for disaster. In order to truly protect themselves, companies need to employ security solutions that provide greater visibility and control over remote data access — no matter where their employees are located — as well as continuously scan for data loss and security anomalies to prevent damaging hacks and breaches.