In the sixth edition of its Top 200 Most Common Passwords, NordPass, known for listing the most used passwords in 44 countries around the world, ranked “12345” as the most common password. The password “12345” is the most widely used in India and around the world. The study took into account almost 3,018,050 users around the world who used this password. In India alone, 76,981 people used “12345” as their password.

Additionally, it was found that “123456789” was the second most used password in the world, while it ranked 8th in India. The study, conducted in collaboration with NordStellar, reveals that almost half of the passwords used worldwide are made up of some of the simplest key combinations, such as “123456789”, “qwerty” or “1q2w3e4er5t”.

A previous study by NordPass provides an interesting insight that an Internet user uses almost 168 passwords for personal accounts and around 87 passwords for work. This indicates that people often rely on multiple passwords and remembering them all can be difficult, leading many to resort to weak, commonly used passwords.

Experts have consistently warned users against using simple password combinations as they are easily cracked and pose a significant cybersecurity risk. For example, combinations such as “qwerty123” are among the most commonly used passwords in several countries, including Lithuania, Canada, Finland and the Netherlands. This password is also among the top ten most popular passwords in India. Another prominent example of passwords is the term “password” itself. It ranks as the second most popular password in India and is the top choice for users in the UK and Australia.

To enhance security, users are advised to create strong passwords, containing at least 20 characters. According to some studies, longer passwords with a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters are relatively more secure than simple passwords. Users should also be aware that the same password should not be used repeatedly.