New Delhi, Nov 19 (NationPress) '123456' has retained its position as the most widely used password in India for the second year running, according to a recent report released on Wednesday.

The research conducted by password manager NordPass analyzed password usage globally across 44 nations, with an emphasis on how various generations select their passwords.

The findings reveal that Indians continue to depend on weak and easily guessable passwords.

Following '123456', the other prevalent passwords in India include 'Pass@123' and 'admin', along with basic numeric patterns like '12345678', '12345', and '123456789'.

Despite efforts to strengthen their passwords with symbols such as '@' or capital letters, combinations like 'Admin@123', 'Password@123', and 'Abcd@1234' remain quite simple to decipher.

The study notes that many Indians attempt to enhance their password strength by adding special characters; however, the overall patterns remain vulnerable to hacking.

Personal factors also play a role in password selection. Names and nationalistic themes frequently appear, with passwords such as 'Kumar@123', 'Global123@', and 'India@123' making the list.

Experts caution that while these combinations may seem personalized, they follow predictable patterns that can easily be exploited by automated attacks.

Globally, the trends are equally alarming. '123456' remains the world's most popular password, followed by 'admin' and '12345678'.

Simple numeric sequences like '12345', '1234567890', and straightforward combinations like 'qwerty123' dominate password lists worldwide.

This year, researchers observed a notable increase in the use of special characters, with 32 passwords on the global list incorporating them, compared to just six last year. However, most of these still represent predictable variations of familiar words or number sequences.

Karolis Arbaciauskas, the product head at NordPass, mentioned that improvements in password security practices have been sluggish despite prolonged awareness campaigns.

He also indicated that until passwordless authentication methods such as passkeys gain traction, having strong and unique passwords is crucial.

'Approximately 80 percent of data breaches stem from weak, reused, or compromised passwords,' he emphasized.

The report also highlighted minimal generational differences in password preferences.

Indeed, the most favored passwords among 18-year-olds are strikingly similar to those used by 80-year-olds, with numeric sequences like '12345' and '123456' prevalent across all age groups.