Worst passwords of 2011

Worst passwords of 2011

The annual list of the 25 worst passwords is out, based on actual compromises. After all these years, why are "monkey" and "qwerty" still on this list? Whenever idiotic passwords are discussed, the following story always comes up: five years ago, a group of Slovak hackers breached Slovakia's National Security Bureau (abbreviated NBU), which stores tons of classified information. It was an easy hack. The NBU's master login/password was simply nbusr/nbusr123. After cracking it, the hackers publicized the information, much to the NBU's embarrassment.

What's even worse? Days later, the password was still "nbu123."


That was five years ago, but bad passwords still abound. SplashData, a password management app maker, compiled a list of the 25 worst passwords of 2011, based on millions of stolen passwords that were dumped online. Typically after hackers compromise a server, like Sony's or CIA.gov's, they post all these personal details online.

Many of the passwords are sequential numbers like "12345" or "654321," while others contained messages like "letmein" and "trustno1". Even if you thought you were being clever with "qazwsx," (look at your keyboard, you'll get it) it's number 23 on the list. "Monkey," "password," and "qwerty" are ALWAYS on these lists. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but, seriously?

Here is the complete list:

* 1. password
* 2. 123456
* 3.12345678
* 4. qwerty
* 5. abc123
* 6. monkey
* 7. 1234567
* 8. letmein
* 9. trustno1
* 10. dragon
* 11. baseball
* 12. 111111
* 13. iloveyou
* 14. master
* 15. sunshine
* 16. ashley
* 17. bailey
* 18. passw0rd
* 19. shadow
* 20. 123123
* 21. 654321
* 22. superman
* 23. qazwsx
* 24. michael
* 25. football