‘123456’ Still India’s Most Common Password for the Second Year: Report

New Delhi: The password “123456” has once again been ranked as India’s most commonly used password, topping the list for the second year in a row, according to a new report released on Wednesday.

The findings, compiled by password manager NordPass, examined passwords used worldwide and across 44 countries, with this year’s analysis also highlighting how different age groups create their passwords.

The report reveals that Indians continue to rely on extremely weak and highly predictable passwords. Following “123456,” other widely used passwords include “Pass@123” and “admin,” along with simple numeric patterns such as “12345678,” “12345,” and “123456789.”

Even though many users attempt to strengthen their passwords by adding symbols or capital letters, combinations like “Admin@123,” “Password@123,” and “Abcd@1234” remain easy for attackers to guess. Researchers noted that while special characters may make passwords appear stronger, the underlying patterns are still highly predictable.

Indian users also frequently incorporate personal or patriotic elements. Passwords like “Kumar@123,” “Global123@,” and “India@123” featured prominently in the country’s top list. However, experts caution that despite seeming unique, such patterns follow familiar formats that are vulnerable to automated hacking tools.

The global picture is similarly troubling. “123456” remains the world’s most common password, followed by “admin” and “12345678.” Numeric sequences like “12345” and “1234567890,” as well as simple combinations such as “qwerty123,” continue to dominate international rankings.

This year’s analysis also revealed an increase in passwords containing special characters — 32 on the global list, up from just six last year. But most of these are still predictable adaptations of basic words and number sequences.

Karolis Arbaciauskas, Head of Product at NordPass, said that progress in improving password habits has been slow, despite continuous safety campaigns. He stressed that until passwordless systems like passkeys become widely adopted, users must rely on strong, unique passwords.

“About 80 per cent of data breaches happen because of weak, reused, or compromised passwords,” Arbaciauskas warned.

Interestingly, the report found little difference across age groups. Passwords used by 18-year-olds closely resemble those used by people aged 80, with simple number sequences like “12345” and “123456” topping every age bracket.

--With inputs from IANS