Hacker issues UK password warning - if your code is on this list, change it now

Despite endless warnings, millions are still making simple errors when it comes to online security. With endless accounts to manage - such as email, shopping sites, social media and utilities - it’s hardly surprising that so many of us choose easy-to-remember passwords but that habit is seriously dangerous with recent stats suggesting the annual cost of cybercrime is expected to hit over £7 million this year alone. It’s thought that 1 in 5 (20 percent) of all Brits have just one to two passwords for all of their online logins and that’s making life far too simple for cyber crooks.

To highlight the dangers, one so-called 'ethical hacker' has issued a worrying alert. Joe Cockroft - a cyber expert who is trained in hacking into complex systems and understanding how cyber criminals carry out attacks - says it's vital to secure your online platforms and make sure accounts are as tough as possible to crack.

“Using identifiable information, such as a favourite football team, names of family members, or the city you live in, can make passwords easier to determine," Cockroft explained.

“While this information may be easy to remember, it could also be easy for threat actors to figure out after a short time exploring your social media profiles, for example. NordPass’s Most Common Password List shows just how popular football teams are for UK passwords, as well as how many passwords lack complexity and are often a single word. Threat actors will often use a list of thousands or millions of words that help them crack your password.

“The National Cyber Security Centre advises that regularly changing passwords can cause more harm than good. Instead, it suggests that better password hygiene is more sufficient in securing accounts. Nevertheless, passwords should be changed immediately if a compromise is suspected or known.”

If you use passwords such as "123456" or "password" (yes, people really still have those passwords) then you must act now or you could be at risk as these remain some of the most-used codes in the UK.

Here are the top 10 UK passwords that you MUST NOT use.

• 123456

• password

• qwerty

• liverpool

• 123456789

• arsenal

• 12345678

• 12345

• abc123

• chelsea

If you aren't sure what's best, here are some top tips to help secure your accounts and keep your data away from prying eyes.

HERE ARE SOME TOP TIPS FOR SECURING YOUR ACCOUNTS

• Always use complex passwords as these are harder to crack. Try adding additinal characters and numbers to your codes.

“A short password with a mixture of numbers, symbols, and letters will be easier to compromise than a long password with only letters and spaces,” Cockroft explained.

• You need more that one code. Resusing the same password for multiple accounts makes life easy for you but also for hackers.

Explaining more, Cockroft said: “Using the same password in multiple places risks the security of multiple accounts and should be avoided.

“Be aware that threat actors may be able to decipher this pattern after observing one or more compromised passwords.”

• Use multi-factor authentication and check to see if your codes have been leaked in recent data thefts.

These are two good tips as multi-factor authentication makes sure nobody can access an account without you being alerted. Checking for leaks will also give you a chance to change things before hackers get to your accounts.