The world is currently investigating the potential of artificial intelligence and its capacity to accomplish tasks with some assistance.
Although there are those who express apprehension about AI, many are enthusiastic about discovering novel uses for it.
As a result, AI offers us both benefits and drawbacks.
In recent months, concerns have arisen about the potential threat of AI to people’s cybersecurity.
Recent research conducted by Home Security Heroes indicates that AI can easily crack frequently used passwords in less than a minute, putting them at risk.
AI Cracking Passwords in Less Than One Minute
According to a recent study by Home Security Heroes, more than 50% of commonly used passwords can be swiftly cracked by artificial intelligence (AI) in less than a minute.
The study tested a password database of 15,680,000 entries using an AI password cracker called PassGAN.
The results revealed that around 66% of passwords could be cracked within an hour, while approximately 51% of frequently used passwords could be cracked in under a minute.
Moreover, the study found that as many as 81% of passwords could be compromised in less than a month.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can predict your passwords in under a minute, but only if they are simple and easily guessable, such as your phone number or birth date.
However, passwords that are 18 characters or longer, and include a combination of letters and symbols, would require more time to crack.
The study also revealed that passwords consisting of 18 or more characters are highly secure and significantly more challenging for AI to crack.
Even passwords made up solely of digits of this length took at least ten months to be deciphered.
Strong passwords typically include a combination of symbols, numbers, and upper- and lower-case characters.
How to protect your passwords and stay safe?
To ensure your safety, it is recommended that you avoid using predictable passwords, particularly those comprised solely of numbers.
Instead, it is ideal to use passwords that are at least 15 characters long and contain a mix of characters, symbols, numbers, upper- and lower-case letters.
If you have concerns about remembering such passwords, you can use a password manager to take appropriate action.
For optimal security, your password should include at least two uppercase and two lowercase letters, numbers, and several special symbols.
It is strongly recommended that you change your passwords every three to six months.
It is also critical to avoid using the same password for all of your accounts, as this poses a significant risk to your security.