In a recent study, Specops Software revealed that more than 2.1 million VPN passwords were compromised in the past year. The company also reveals which VPN provider is most impacted, and it’s not the one you would have expected.
Specops Software is a company specializing in password management and regularly publishes studies and audits on their level of security. Its latest study on the two million VPN passwords compromised by malware reveals, among other things, that these passwords are no more secure than others.
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What are the most compromised VPN passwords?
VPNs are sometimes considered the pinnacle of cybersecurity, but in reality, they too are vulnerable to cyberattacks. According to Specops Software, “ it is much easier for cybercriminals to target end-user login credentials than to try to hack VPNs themselves« .
Even VPNs with the most reliable security solutions can be heavily impacted. In the top 3 most compromised VPN providers, we find NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Proton VPN in first position and which are affected by more than half of the two million stolen passwords.
As for the most compromised passwords, we find the great classics “123456”, “123456789” and “12345678”. In the lot, we also find “protonvpn”, “1111”, “qwerty” (don’t make the same mistake with “azerty”) or even the unforgettable “password”. We find almost the same occurrences among corporate VPNs, with the famous “admin” and “admin123” at the top.
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Securing the identifiers of all your accounts (bank account, social networks, streaming platform, etc.) is more complicated than it seems.
You can create a long password (12 characters or more according to the CNIL), with capital letters, numbers and symbols as well as a mnemonic to remember it. However, you should avoid those that include information about you such as your date of birth or your mother’s maiden name.
It is best to create a unique password for each account and write them down somewhere to remember them. Post-it notes, Word files and mailboxes are strongly discouraged, so what should you do if you have dozens of passwords, to the point where it is impossible to remember them all?
Today, the most reliable solution is the password manager. These software create and save ultra-complex passwords and automatically enter them when you need to enter credentials. There is no longer any need to make the effort to remember each of your passwords, except that of the manager himself.
Password managers can also work with two-factor authentication or biometric authentication to add an extra layer of security.
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