Hacking your account: Still as easy as ‘123456’
Hongkongers are still putting themselves at risk by using passwords that are too simple, the chief executive of the Monetary Authority has warned
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Norman Chan Tak-lam has warned of the use of simple passwords, which are vulnerable to hackers as internet banks and online shopping are booming in the city.
In his blog yesterday, Chan said passwords which are too simple or short easily opened the door for hackers. He quoted a survey as saying “123456” was still the most commonly used password of Internet users in developed countries. “This is tantamount to an open invitation to criminals,” Chan wrote.
A separate report released yesterday by American technology company Verizon Enterprise Solutions echoed Chan’s concerns.
The survey based on the analysis of 2,260 data breaches recorded in the past year, showed 63 per cent of them involving using weak, default or stolen passwords. This was up from 41 per cent recorded in the previous year.
“1234”, “password” and “0000” were still among the most common passwords used by Hongkongers, like the rest of the world, said Patrick Wong, head of security engineering at Verizon Asia Pacific.