"starwars" joins the top 100 worst passwords list in 2017

2017 will be remembered for some of the worst hacks and data leaks. Equifax, WannaCry, Goldeneye and Uber”s concealment of the leak of 57 million user records have apparently taught the average internet user nothing about security. Users still haven”t understood the importance of strong unique passwords, password management provider SplashData concluded after analyzing over 5 million leaked credentials.

According to the company”s list of the 100 worst passwords of 2017, “123456” and “password” are still the most used passwords. Amid intense promotion of the Star Wars movies this year, “starwars” has made the list as one of the most used passwords in 2017.

“Unfortunately, while the newest episode may be a fantastic addition to the Star Wars franchise, “starwars” is a dangerous password to use,” said Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData, Inc. “Hackers are using common terms from pop culture and sports to break into accounts online because they know many people are using those easy-to-remember words.”

Other passwords include sports terms such as “baseball,” “football,” “Lakers,” “jordan23,” car brands such as “ferrari” and “corvette,” and words such as “welcome,” “monkey,” “cheese,” and “trustno1.” According to the list, many users choose first names as passwords, including “Robert,” “Joshua,” “Maggie” and “Phoenix.”

“Hackers know your tricks, and merely tweaking an easily guessable password does not make it secure,” says Slain. “Our hope is that our Worst Passwords of the Year list will cause people to take steps to protect themselves online.”

With some users thinking that replacing the letter “o” with the number “0” makes an insecure password safe, 2017 ends on a sad note for computer security. Users still lack interest in online security and protecting their data from identity theft.