Olympic-themed passwords put people at risk

Image: Mackenzie Burke

Devising passwords for your website accounts is ever a challenge. That's wherefore galore radical look to existent events for inspiration. But that strategy is simply a look for occupation arsenic it often leads to elemental and anemic passwords, making you casual prey for cybercriminals. A study released Tuesday by password manager NordPass looks astatine the astir fashionable and anemic Olympic-themed passwords floating successful cyberspace.

SEE: Password Management Policy (TechRepublic)

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics yet being held successful 2021 owed to the pandemic, radical person been cheering connected their favourite sports and rooting for their favourite athletes. As the games person created a batch of buzz and excitement, radical people gully inspiration from them. And seemingly that origin carries implicit into cybersecurity.

The latest probe from NordPass shows that radical are creating passwords based connected Olympic events and athletes contempt warnings from cybersecurity experts not to usage elemental oregon anemic passwords. Among the sporting events themselves, "football" scores the apical extremity by being utilized arsenic a password much than 5.8 cardinal times, according to NordPass' analysis.

"Baseball" hits a tally arsenic a password successful usage much than 4.1 cardinal times. "Golf" putts arsenic a password much than 3.2 cardinal times, followed by "hockey" astatine 2.6 cardinal times, "tennis" astatine 1.5 cardinal times and "basketball" astatine 1.4 cardinal times.

The names of athletes competing successful the Olympics besides popped up arsenic fashionable passwords successful NordPass' analysis. Among them, "kenny" appeared 1.3 cardinal times, "williams" much than 1 cardinal times, "asher" 1 cardinal times and "riner" 265,971 times. Other go-to athlete-inspired passwords see "masse" astatine 261,997 times, "curry" astatine 196,0165 times, "gonzales" astatine 194,129 times, "osaka" astatine 87,725 times, "sindhu" astatine 84,261 times, "federer" astatine 82,897 times and "biles" astatine 57,331 times.

The connection "tokyo" was utilized arsenic a password 231,818 times and "olympics" was utilized 27,881 times.

Though Olympic fever is each good and good, a enactment should beryllium drawn successful the soil erstwhile it comes to celebrating the games done your ain cybersecurity.

"These passwords tin beryllium cracked astir instantly—that's the main issue," said NordPass information experts Chad Hammond. "While it's astonishing to enactment your favourite athletics oregon athlete, it's not advisable to instrumentality that enactment to your passwords arsenic it truly compromises your security. In fact, adjacent if you don't support, let's say, Kylie Masse, but person the aforesaid past sanction arsenic her, don't usage that arsenic your password, arsenic 261,997 radical already have."

Relying connected existent events to devise your passwords is thing new.

"Earlier this year, NordPass reported that specified passwords arsenic "corona," "lockdown," and different words oregon phrases that person defined our lives successful the past twelvemonth are besides utilized arsenic passwords rather often," Hammond added. "We've besides noticed that radical often simply usage their names, favourite sports teams, oregon the sanction of the work they're registering for."

To amended support your website accounts with beardown passwords and security, Hammond offers the pursuing advice:

1. Update each your passwords and usage unsocial and analyzable ones to unafraid your accounts. Try utilizing a password generator to make passwords that are hard oregon intolerable to guess.
2. Use a password manager. Such tools tin make and store passwords. More precocious password managers see information breach scanners that tin archer you if immoderate of your accounts whitethorn person been compromised.
3. Use two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible. Whether you trust connected 2FA done an app, biometric data, oregon a carnal information key, your accounts volition beryllium safer with that other furniture of security.

Also see

• Tokyo 2020 Olympics indispensable beryllium other unafraid to debar cyberattacks and ransomware (TechRepublic)  
  
• Scammers connection streaming services, giveaways and a fake cyber currency to currency successful connected the Olympic Games (TechRepublic)
  
• How to go a cybersecurity pro: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
• Social engineering: A cheat expanse for concern professionals (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Shadow IT policy (TechRepublic Premium)
• Cybersecurity and cyberwar: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic connected Flipboard)