If you ever needed a reminder to change the password you’ve had since you were 14, this is it. Apparently over 20 million Aussie devices had the password “admin” last year. C’mon guys, at least add in some numbers.
The data comes from cybersecurity expert Lawrence Patrick. He told News.com.au that loads of Aussies just… weren’t changing the default passwords on their devices, including work laptops. Other frequently used passwords included “Default”, “Administrator”, “Guest” and “user”.
I mean, who can forget when the Department of Defence had secret files stolen because its passwords included “admin”?
“Once you set up a new account, you’re supposed to change the password, but a lot of businesses and companies either forget to do it, or they get lazy and don’t do it,” Patrick told News.com.au.
That makes it fkn easy for hackers to get in. Absolute nightmare scenario.
Patrick also said it was a bad idea to use the same password across all of your accounts — especially emails and banking — and advised against keeping them on your phone’s notes app. I know, I know. It’s hard to resist the easy allure of the notes app. But maybe it’s time to find a new password saving strategy?
Interestingly, this info about loads of Aussies using the same password has come out at the same time as another study. It shows Aussies are also constantly forgetting their passwords. So not only are we all using the same, easily hackable passwords, we’re also forgetting them!
Take me back to the bloody Stone Age at this rate.
The second study comes from global IT company Cisco. It found that one in two Australians have to reset their passwords twice a week ‘cos they forgot them. Feeling seen, not gonna lie.
Obviously, this leaves a big question: if you need a unique password for all your accounts, how TF are you meant to remember them all?
Web security consultant Troy Hunt told 9News a good solution was a password manager. They basically create random passwords that are hard for hackers to figure out.
Similarly, Lawrence Patrick recommended getting multi-factor authentication. It can help protect your accounts even if hackers suss out your passwords.
My apologies to Rihanna in Ocean’s 8 but you’re not getting access to my carefully curated Moshi Monsters account.
If you’ve been meaning to change the ‘ol password, take this as your sign to do it. And please for the love of God, don’t change you password to “admin”.
