Analysts from Specops Software, a company specializing in computer security, have sought to find out on which social networks compromised passwords are reused. LinkedIn, the network dedicated to professionals, is in 3rd position.
After this damning study by Proton Mail on web beacons in our emails, Specops Software analysts have just published the results of their latest experiment on the use of compromised passwords on social networks.
To do this, the company specializing in computer security analyzed a subset of 800 million passwords from the Breached Password Protection database. The objective is to determine on which social networks we find the most passwords already compromised.
LinkedIn is home to many compromised passwords
Thus, we find in particular at the top of the list QQ, a Chinese application which ranks in the TOP 10 of the most popular applications in the world in 2022. In total, the researchers found no less than 3 million passwords at risk on QQ . The 1st English-speaking site to appear in the data is none other than LinkedIn. Nothing surprising unfortunately, since the social network dedicated to professionals has been the victim of several major hacks in recent years. In April 2021, the data of 500 million users was sold on the web.
But without further ado, here are the 10 social networks on which we find the most compromised passwords:
- Snapchat
- Youtube
- Skype
Also read: here are the worst passwords of 2022, change yours right away if it’s on the list!
“The results released today only underscore how the lines between personal and professional life are blurring when it comes to how employees create their passwords. Instead of choosing a complex password, many users settle for a simple word, often from pop culture or something familiar to them. These bad practices endanger the security of organizations”, assures Noé Mantel, product specialist at Specops Software.
In the second part of his study, thea company warns of the danger of reusing the same password within companies. In particular, she refers to a study on computer security by the US Department of the Interior, which highlighted frequent cases of password reuse. In particular, we learn that 20% of all active accounts contained passwords used on multiple separate accounts.