10 passwords that haven’t been breached yet

The password manager NordPass has listed 10 passwords that haven’t been breached yet. While these are not the only 10 passwords that haven’t been involved in a breach, security experts encourage users to take stock and follow (but not copy) the examples below to ensure that their personal data is secure.

1. UGr2@&589YpM

2. #hS569Uryde*

3. 5E%CcE@5NCNv

4. cZYS9K3&

5. ^7Z$hVa^

6. N!*dX5CJugZ4GSQ

7. $KrCNqcXJ5EE

8. 4Tf$JbPCGpT#

9. @*RbRAv2m4

10. #43ZjeLG

“According to our research, a staggering number of people are still using blatantly obvious and easy-to-guess passwords. The problem is compounded by the fact that people tend to reuse the same password for multiple platforms. This leads to millions of accounts being breached every year,” says Chad Hammond, a security expert at NordPass.

At the end of last year, NordPass published a list of the 200 most popular passwords, which was compiled based on credentials leaked in data breaches. Independent researchers evaluated the database, which contains 500 million passwords in total.

NordPass security expert Chad Hammond warns that although many people think they have nothing that hackers would find valuable or interesting, it is a common misconception. “Most of us use various online services, have access to internet banking, and shop online.

The majority also have many accounts, such as email, Amazon, AliExpress, eBay, and many others. These accounts could be locked up for ransom or sold on the darknet. Just as an example, you can get a Netflix account for as little as $1.25. Subsequently, these accounts could be used in such activities as spamming, carding, and fraud.”

So, how do you secure your account tightly and what makes a good password?

“The main quality of a strong password is length — it shouldn’t be short. Also, it should have upper and lower case letters, as well as numbers and symbols. We also encourage users to ditch any ties to their personal information and avoid using words you can find in a dictionary,” says the security expert at NordPass.

In addition to creating a strong password, there are other steps you can take to keep your accounts more secure:

1. Go over all the accounts you have and delete the ones you no longer use. If a small, obscure website ends up breached, you might never even hear about it. You can use haveibeenpawned.com to check if your email has ever been in a breach.

2. Update all your passwords and use unique, complicated ones to safeguard your accounts. You can generate effective and secure passwords online as well as check if they have ever been breached.

3. Use 2FA if you can. Whether it’s an app, biometric data, or hardware security key, your accounts will be much safer when you add that extra layer of protection.

4. Set up a password manager. It is the perfect tool for both generating and storing passwords.

5. Make sure to check your every account for suspicious activities regularly. If you notice something unusual, change your password immediately.