Security experts are once again reminding people not to use basic Internet passwords, and that includes the names of your favorite bands and musicians. Some of the most-hacked music-related passwords are “blink182,” “metallica,” “slipknot,” “eminem” and “50cent,” according to the U.K. government’s National Cyber Security Center.
NCSC recently released a global password risk list, and these were among some of the top offenders.
Mark Hoppus, Blink-182 bassist and vocalist, posted a link to the password list on Twitter, captioning his post, “you guys.” Drummer Travis Barker also posted the link and merely included a shrug emoji.
The ‘90s pop/punk band continues to tour and obviously maintains a large fan following. It’s possible people use their name because it contains both letters and numbers. While Hoppous and Barker may not be overly concerned about their influence on people’s passwords, you should be. Having your password hacked can cause a multitude of problems.
NCSC’s worst password list also includes several fictional characters such as “superman,” “tigger,” “batman,” “pokemon” as well as common names, including “ashley,” “michael,” “daniel,” “jessica,” “charlie.”
As usual, the worst passwords are “123456,” “123456789,” “qwerty” and “1111111.” Thirty million hacking victims have used the numerical passwords and suffered the consequences.
“We understand that cyber security can feel daunting to a lot of people, but the NCSC has published lots of easily applicable advice to make you much less vulnerable,” Dr. Ian Levy, NCSC’s technical director, said in a statement.
“Password re-use is a major risk that can be avoided – nobody should protect sensitive data with something that can be guessed, like their first name, local football team or favourite band. Using hard-to-guess passwords is a strong first step and we recommend combining three random but memorable words. Be creative and use words memorable to you, so people can’t guess your password.”
The agency strongly recommends that if you see a password in its list that you use, you should change it immediately.
