You might think that your passwords are secure. However, research shows just how quickly hackers can access your accounts through brute force.
With an increased use of artificial intelligence and more sophisticated methods, hackers are slashing the time needed to break into your accounts.
Researchers at the cybersecurity firm Hive Systems have created a table showing just how quickly hackers can brute force your passwords.
Shorter passwords that may have survived hackers in the past are now quickly deciphered in minutes, hours, or days.
According to the chart, passwords with between four and eight characters and comprised of only numbers can be cracked instantly. The same goes for passwords of four to five characters using only lowercase letters.
The hardest passwords to crack are, you guessed it, longer passwords comprised of various numbers, upper- and lower-case letters, and symbols.
Hive Systems states that passwords between 14 and 18 characters with a range of numbers, letters, and symbols may take billions of years, if not trillions of years, to crack.
“Our password table focuses on the idea that the hacker is working in a “black box” situation and is having to start from scratch to crack your hash in order to show the “worst case” or maximum time required,” the cybersecurity firm said.
Hackers will use rainbow tables, dictionary attacks, and previously stolen hashes to figure out their next move, Hive Systems said.
If your passwords have been compromised in a previous breach, use dictionary words, or have been reused across websites, hackers can crack these passwords almost instantly, the table shows.
You can check whether your password has been compromised or found in a leak via our Cybernews “Leaked Password Checker” tool.
The cloud security company Cloudflare recently found that 41% of people use already compromised passwords when logging into their email accounts, social media, or any online service.
“Even after major breaches, many individuals don’t change their compromised passwords or still use variations of them across different services. For these users, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ attackers will use their compromised passwords, it’s a matter of ‘when,’” the tech giant said.
This makes it all the more important to change weak or compromised passwords, as hackers may easily enter your accounts through brute force and other attacks.
How to ensure you’re using secure passwords
As said before, password reuse is rampant, so make sure you’re using unique passwords on all of your accounts.
By using a password manager, you can ensure that you’re using unique passwords and automatically entering them across sites, making it harder for hackers.
Based on Hive Systems charts, passwords that use numbers, symbols, and lowercase and uppercase letters are most secure. But that’s useless unless your passwords are between 13 and 18 characters long.
While longer passwords have historically been known to keep hackers at bay, without using a range of characters (numbers, symbols, and lowercase and uppercase letters), it’ll be much easier to crack your passwords.
Oh, and never forget multi-factor authentication for added protection against attackers.
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