A comprehensive analysis of passwords used globally has revealed an alarming trend: weak passwords remain overwhelmingly popular despite repeated warnings from security experts. A 2025 study by ComparTech examined over 2 billion leaked passwords, uncovering that simplistic passwords such as “123456,” “admin,” and “password” are still among the most used. Over 25% of these top passwords are purely numeric, nearly 40% include “123,” and many are composed of single repeated characters.
In a related study, NordPass highlighted that Gen Z users are just as prone to selecting weak passwords as older generations. Notably, “12345” frequently tops the list among younger users. This trend extends across age groups, with “123456” often being the most commonly used password for the sixth time in seven years. Corporate environments are not an exception; “admin” is the second most used password globally and leads in countries like the US, UK, and Germany.
Despite decades of security awareness campaigns, there has been little advancement in password hygiene, and attackers can instantly crack most common passwords. In South Africa, for instance, ‘admin’ has overtaken ‘123456’ as the most common password, according to a recent NordPass report.
The consequences of weak password choices are severe, with approximately 80% of data breaches resulting from compromised passwords. Security experts continue to advocate for longer and more complex passwords that utilize phrases and a variety of character types. They also recommend the use of password managers, enabling multi-factor authentication, creating unique passwords for each service, and regularly reviewing and updating credentials to mitigate risks until passkey technology becomes broadly adopted. Ensuring strong password practices is crucial as technology evolves and cyber threats become more sophisticated.

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Analysis of over 2 billion leaked passwords reveals that weak passwords like '123456', 'admin', and 'password' remain overwhelmingly popular across all age groups and corporate environments. Despite decades of security awareness, 80% of data breaches stem from compromised passwords, with most common passwords being instantly crackable. Security experts recommend using password managers, multi-factor authentication, unique passwords per service, and longer complex passphrases until passkey technology becomes widely adopted.

Persistent Password Problems: Weak Choices Span Generations