You might think that your online passwords are strong enough to prevent attackers from breaking into your apps, stealing your money, and hijacking your Amazon and eBay accounts. But thanks to AI, your industrial strength password might not be as hacker-proof as you thought.
PassGAN cracked 81% of common passwords in less than one month
The study showed that 51% of common passwords can be figured out using AI in under a minute. 65% of such passwords can be cracked in less than an hour. AI can figure out 71% of common passwords in less than a day, and 81% of common passwords can be cracked in under one month. PassGAN has the capability to “autonomously learn the distribution of real passwords from actual password leaks.”
An 18-character password using upper and lowercase letters provides outstanding protection from AI password guessers
To protect yourself from an AI “password guessing” platform, you need to make your passwords at least 12 characters long using a combination of upper, and lowercase letters plus numbers and symbols. A 12-character password made up of only numbers can be cracked in under 25 seconds. Using upper and lower case letters, it will require 289 years to discover and if you add numbers, upper and lower case letters, and symbols, your password could be safe from AI for 30,000 years.
Other suggestions include the use of two-factor authorization (2FA). When you sign into an app, a code is sent to your phone which you will need to enter in order to open said app. Also, do not use the same password for multiple accounts and apps. When possible, use auto-generated passwords and update your passwords often, especially for banking and other financial apps. Additionally, you are advised not to log in to financial and other sensitive apps via a public Wi-Fi network unless you want to get ripped off.
It might seem like hard work to keep your passwords safe, but it is well worth the effort to prevent an attacker from breaking into your important apps and accounts.
