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

Global digital security is facing a serious challenge. Based on the latest analysis by Kaspersky experts of 231 million unique passwords leaked between 2023 and 2026, a surprising fact has emerged: the majority of passwords currently in use are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks. Data shows that around 68 per cent of modern passwords can be hacked in less than a 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 for users to follow easily guessed patterns. Many users believe they are secure by simply adding numbers or symbols, but their placement actually facilitates brute force attacks, a method where hackers systematically try every character combination. Beyond number patterns, internet trends also influence user behaviour. Kaspersky recorded a 36-fold spike in the use of the word ‘Skibidi’ within the analysed password database, reflecting how viral trends are directly adopted as personal security keys. Users also tend to choose positive words such as ‘love’, ‘magic’, ‘friend’, and ‘star’. Although they appear unique, using a single dictionary word—even with special characters added—is still considered a weak choice because it is easily guessed by hacking algorithms. Password length does have an effect, but it is no longer an absolute guarantee. Using a simulation with a single RTX 5090 GPU unit and the MD5 algorithm, the cracking speed reached alarming levels. Alexey Antonov, Data Science Team Lead at Kaspersky, stressed that real-world attackers can rent hundreds of GPUs simultaneously, meaning the hacking time could be significantly shorter than the figures suggest. As a preventive measure, the public is advised to start switching from manual reminder methods to digital password managers that offer high-level encryption and cross-device synchronisation to avoid the risk of future data leaks.