Kaspersky Research: 68 Per Cent of Modern Passwords Can Be Hacked Within a Day

Global digital security is facing serious challenges. Based on a recent analysis by Kaspersky experts of 231 million unique passwords leaked between 2023 and 2026, it was discovered that the majority of passwords currently in use are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Data shows that approximately 68% of modern passwords can be hacked in less than one day. Furthermore, the use of intelligent algorithms powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) has drastically accelerated the hacking process, rendering old security standards inadequate.

One of the key findings in this research is the tendency of users to follow predictable patterns. Many users feel secure by adding numbers or symbols, yet their placement actually facilitates brute-force attacks, a method where hackers systematically attempt every character combination.

In addition to numerical patterns, internet trends also influence user behaviour. Kaspersky noted a 36-fold surge in the use of the word “Skibidi” within the analysed password database, reflecting how viral trends are directly adopted into personal security keys.

Users also tend to choose positive words such as “love”, “magic”, “friend”, and “star”. Although these may appear unique, the use of a single dictionary word—even when supplemented with special characters—is still considered a weak choice because it is easily guessed by hacking algorithms.

While password length does play a role, it is no longer an absolute guarantee of security. Using simulations with a single RTX 5090 GPU and the MD5 algorithm, hacking speeds have reached alarming levels.

Alexey Antonov, Data Science Team Lead at Kaspersky, emphasised that real-world attackers can rent hundreds of GPUs simultaneously, meaning hacking times could be significantly shorter than the data presented above.

As a preventive measure, the public is advised to transition from manual memorisation methods to digital password managers that offer high-level encryption and cross-device synchronisation to avoid the risk of future data breaches. In the digital era, passwords serve as the first layer of security to protect personal data, social media accounts, and even banking access.