'The findings are sobering': Experts warn nearly half of the world's
passwords can easily be cracked in just a few minutes

Date:
Fri, 08 May 2026 15:05:00 +0000

Description:
Kaspersky researchers conducted real world testing and found that almost half of passwords can be cracked in less than a minute.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Kaspersky researchers have
found most passwords can be cracked in less than a minute The researchers
used a GPU to crack real worlds passwords from the dark web Most passwords
can be cracked in less than an hour Using real-world samples recovered from the dark web, Kaspersky researchers have tested how long it would take to crack most passwords, and found that almost half of the world's passwords can be cracked in less than a minute.

Additionally, the research shows that within an hour, that number rises to three out of five passwords. Armed with this knowledge, the researchers then explored what differentiates a strong password from a weak one. Latest Videos From You may like Some top password managers can be hacked and hijacked to change your passwords - here's what we know Don't trust AI to come up with a strong new password for you LLMs are pretty poor at creating new logins, experts warn We must do more to protect our credentials: Password security
has barely changed since 2015 and that's a big problem for everyone Cracked in less than a minute Kaspersky research team gathered a dataset of 231 million unique passwords leaked on the dark web between 2023 and 2026, and using a single RTX 5090 GPU, proceeded to see how long it would take a persistent hacker to crack most MD5 hash algorithm passwords.

The results showed that 48% of the worlds passwords can be broken in under a minute, 60% in less than an hour, and 68% in less than 24 hours.

But that is just a single threat actor with a single GPU. If the attacker turned to renting GPU computing power online, for just a few dollars an hour they can rent multiple GPUs to crack the passwords even faster.

The main thing standing in the way of a rapid password cracking is its
length. If a password is below 8 characters, it often takes less than 24
hours to crack. The gold standard is more than 15 characters, but make sure it's not just there is some character variation. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

If you want to add more hours onto your passwords cracking time, add in some numbers. But dont use your year of birth, and definitely dont use 1234. Using a special character can help, but Kaspersky found that the @ symbol is by far the choice for most people, appearing in one out of every ten passwords.

Kaspersky also found that more than half of the passwords in their data set have been exposed before, showing the extent of password reuse.

In order to best protect your passwords and online accounts, there are some actionable steps you can take: Use a reputable password manager to generate and store your credentials Never write down your passwords as plain text.
Dont use browser storage for your passwords, they can be extracted almost instantly by malware. Wherever you can, use a passkey instead of a password. They are more secure and phishing resistant. Wherever you can, use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to secure your accounts. Even if an
attacker has your username and password, MFA can stop them getting in. The best password manager for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best password manager 1. Best overall: NordPass
2. Best for mobile: RoboForm 3. Best for syncing and sharing: Keeper Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/the-findings-are-sobering-nearly-half-o f-the-worlds-passwords-can-easily-be-cracked-in-just-a-few-minutes


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