Have passwords outlived their usefulness? Take a look at some of the weak passwords exposed in website breaches this year, and judge for yourself. The frequent usage of weak passwords such as “changeme,” “123abc,” and “Pa$$w0rd” (real-life examples uncovered in the recent breach and defacement of a security software vendor’s website) are a strong indicator that enterprise organizations might be well-advised to consider a shift to new mechanisms for secure authentication that are more resistant to subversion by careless end-users.
Weak passwords are a problem because they are easy to guess – and they are certainly no match for brute-force password attacks by criminals using automated password cracking software such as John the Ripper.