A recent study by experts shows that even long or complex password combinations can be cracked quickly. You can only achieve real security in other ways.
Hackers are getting faster and faster. Even complex passwords now only provide protection for a few seconds. (Source: hin255/depositphotos.com; Studio37/depositphotos.com; Image montage: Netzwelt)
Actually, we all know better, but many of us often use passwords that are too simple. Who wants to have to remember strings for a long time? It is clear that passwords that are too simple are quickly cracked. However, a new study now shows that even complex passwords are not nearly as secure as long thought.
The study was carried out by the security experts from Hive Systems. Every year they test how long it takes them with current hardware to crack specific types of passwords. This year’s results show that even eight-character passwords can only withstand hacker attacks for a few seconds. For a long time, such passwords were considered at least somewhat secure.
The following table shows how quickly security experts cracked various password combinations with current hardware. You’ve tried different password lengths and combinations of numbers, letters, and characters.
| Password length in characters | only pay | only letters (small) | only letters (small and capital) | Numbers and letters (small and large) | Numbers, letters (small and large), special characters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | immediately | immediately | 3 seconds | 6 seconds | 9 seconds |
| 5 | immediately | 4 seconds | 2 minutes | 6 minutes | 10 mins |
| 6 | immediately | 2 minutes | 2 hours | 6 hours | 12 hours |
| 7 | 4 seconds | 50 minutes | 4 days | 2 weeks | 1 month |
| 8th | 37 seconds | 22 hours | 8 months | 3 years | 7 years |
| 9 | 6 minutes | 3 weeks | 33 years | 161 years | 479 years |
| 10 | 1 hour | 2 years | 1,000 years | 9,000 years | 33,000 years |
| 11 | 10 hours | 44 years | 89,000 years | 618,000 years | 2 million years |
| 12 | 4 days | 1,000 years | 4 million years | 38 million years | 164 million years |
| 13 | 1 month | 29,000 years | 241 million years | 2 billion years | 11 billion years |
| 14 | 1 year | 766,000 years | 12 billion years | 147 billion years | 805 billion years |
| 15 | 12 years | 19 million years | 652 billion years | 9 trillion Years | 56 trillion Years |
| 16 | 119 years | 517 million years | 33 trillion Years | 566 trillion Years | 3 billion years |
| 17 | 1,000 years | 13 billion years | 1st Br. years | 35 billion years | 276 billion years |
| 18 | 11,000 years | 350 billion years | 91st Br. Years | 2 qd. Trill. Years | 19 qd. Trill. Years |
Hive Systems study on password security
Passwords with eight characters can be broken in seconds. Even if your password consists of numbers, lowercase and uppercase letters, hackers will have your password in three years. That sounds like a long time, but since very few people change their passwords regularly, the risk of a hacker attack is merely postponed.
Even if you use numbers, lower and upper case letters and special characters in your password, this does not guarantee security as long as you do not use a long password. The most complex combinations protect you for just twelve hours if they only have six characters.
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The study shows one thing above all: neither a complex nor a long password guarantees you security. It is important that you combine both. A ten-digit password made up of lower and upper case letters will protect you for a whopping 1,000 years. If you also use numbers and symbols, your access data will defy any brute force attack.
Particularly long passwords are an exception. If you create passwords with 16 or more characters, they will also guarantee you 119 years of security, even if they only consist of numbers. Of course, such long sequences of numbers are difficult to remember. So that you don’t forget them, you can and should save them in a password manager.
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Good password management protects your data. But many rules for strong passwords are now very outdated. We show which rules still apply and which don’t.
If you are worried that your thought-out passwords might be too insecure, use a password generator. These practical programs create guaranteed secure character strings for you and you can often also specify the desired length. We debunk even more password myths for you in the linked article.
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