What are the risks of using default passwords?

Understanding the risks associated with default passwords is vital. These passwords are often the lowest hanging fruit for attackers. There are tools readily available that can systematically check common default passwords across a wide range of devices, which makes breaking into systems incredibly fast. But, here's where the power of strong, unique passwords comes into play. By creating long and complex passwords, you can significantly increase the time and computational effort required to crack them. In some cases, a properly designed password can take so long to crack that it exceeds the age of the Earth itself. So, remember, when it comes to passwords, complexity is your best friend in maintaining security.

Default and temporary passwords alike are vulnerable to all sorts of risks to include: -Unauthorized Access -Data Breaches -Malware Infections -Loss of Privacy -Identity Theft -System Damage -Business Disruption and more… As a general rule of thumb, change your password immediately to include: -12 characters minimum length. -combination of UPPERcase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. -DO NOT use names, birthdays, or common phrases. -DO NOT use the same password across multiple accounts. -Avoid common phrase passwords such as: qwerty, 123456, or password. -Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) when possible. -Periodically change your password. Following these steps will help keep you and your data safe from potential threats.

Thou shalt not use default username or passwords! A simple search online will reveal tons of devices default passwords and you guess right, hackers can search too. Humans are the weakest link in IT security and will often overlook this first simple step of security. Username: Admin Password: Admin No Bob :) Default passwords are meant to place hold from factory or to revert after a factory reset in case of forgotten password, etc. Default password should never be left as it is.

Anyone can get a default credentials through a simple google search which makes the devices extremely vulnerable, manufacturers used to give this for the easy access for the end users for initial setup. But this have changed a lot these days ,manufacturers are giving their devices default username same as before but very strong passwords. Still people tends to change this passwords to weak one for easy remembering and thus compromising the security. Most of the cases these passwords could be anything related to their personal info and could be derived using simple social engineering techniques

Do not use default passwords, default passwords are extremely easy crack and are usually the most susceptible to be hacked by users.

Hackers have an arsenal of specialized tools at their disposal for exploiting default passwords. One commonly used tool is Hydra, known for its brute-force and dictionary attack capabilities. Another powerful password-cracking tool is John the Ripper, which is renowned for its speed and effectiveness. These tools can quickly decipher weak default passwords, as their success rate depends on the complexity of the password. It's crucial to understand how these tools work and take proactive steps to protect your systems against such attacks by using strong, unique passwords.

While complicated tools can be used to get passwords. Default passwords require little or no technical hacking. Default passwords are easy to guess. They can be labeled on your wifi router and stolen with a quick covert camera shot when you had a party. Default passwords are published on the manufacturer's support page for the device on the internet. Some of the passwords are even guessable. Yes, often as simple as PASSWORD. A default password should be assumed to be shared with everyone. So please change ASAP.

Using default passwords poses a grave risk, especially in terms of data breaches. When default passwords remain unchanged, they provide an open invitation to cybercriminals, granting them unrestricted access to your devices and services. This not only leaves you vulnerable to unauthorized access but also places your personal and professional data in jeopardy. Cybercriminals can exploit this vulnerability, potentially stealing, deleting, or disclosing your sensitive information. Moreover, it's not only your immediate device that's at risk; cybercriminals can exploit your default password to infiltrate other connected devices or accounts within your network.

Using default passwords can have dire consequences for your security. They make your systems, devices, and networks vulnerable to unauthorized access, potentially leading to data loss, theft, or malware infection. Your network's integrity may be compromised, and you could face legal and compliance issues, along with damage to your reputation and financial losses. To mitigate these risks, always replace default passwords with strong, unique alternatives to bolster your security.

When determining the strength of a password, it's crucial to consider the character set used and the number of characters in the password. A character set consisting of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols provides a significantly more secure option than using a limited set of characters. As the number of characters in the password increases, the time required to crack the passphrase rises exponentially. For instance, a 12-character password with a broader character set can take over 6,000 days to crack, while a 16-character password with an extended character set could potentially take billions of years. Therefore, opting for longer passwords with diverse characters is a fundamental practice in enhancing security.

Strong password guidance is constantly evolving, as threats evolve too. It's now advisable to use a passphrase to dramatically increase the length of your password, whilst keeping it memorable. Even better - use a password manager protected by a passphrase. Many browsers have inbuilt password managers, but these are only as safe as your device and/or account security!

How can you prevent using default passwords? The solution is extremely simple: 1) enforce the default password change prior the 1st login 2) add the default password to the blacklist (for example pam_pwquality supports dictionaries of forbidden passwords).

Long passwords such as 18+ characters, with different symbols, numbers and capitalization is recommended. It's also recommended to not use common keyword names as this could be easy to crack too. I also recommend having 2FA or MFA activated on as many accounts you have open as this would make it more difficult for hackers to gain access to your account.

Practically speaking, it is humanly impossible to remember different passwords for different accounts with a mix of upper and lower characters, special characters, numbers and at least 16 characters long. So what usually happens is the people who use complex passwords start to write them down on notepads, which kind of defeat the purpose. So, at the end, people return back to using default passwords. In order to prevent this, password managers are a good way to ensure that complex and different passwords are maintained while also not exposed easily.

Preventing the use of default passwords is crucial for safeguarding your devices and online accounts. To enhance your security significantly, it's essential to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) or two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible. MFA adds an extra layer of protection by requiring you to provide something you know (your password) and something you have (a mobile device, authentication app, or hardware token) to access your accounts. This makes it substantially more challenging for unauthorized individuals to gain access, even if they obtain your password. By utilizing MFA, you can significantly improve your data, privacy, and security protection.

Preventing the use of default passwords is essential for maintaining the security of your devices and systems. First thing to do is the changing default password after the installation. After that create strong password policy and enforce it to all stakeholders. If possible, use two factor authentication to avoid many exploits. But most importantly, educate all users to risks about default passwords.

Default passwords are only helpful insomuch as the initial access to a device or service. I've found it helpful to make a habit of changing the default administrative password on devices at work (computers, network devices, etc.), and I do this at home as well when I obtain a personal router. Using similar requirements for complex passwords (lower/uppercase, numbers, special characters) is also helpful for ensuring they can't be easily accessed. Out-of-band management is another good practice for secure management of devices like routers and switches that can present a huge risk in a network if compromised.

Some of the largest data-breaches in history are because of default passwords. 2020 Federal Government breaches exploited software and credentials from Microsoft, SolarWinds and VMware. A weak password could have played a huge part in the breach. SolarWinds password was "solarwinds123" even most social sites require more variety now. A capital letter, a number, and a special character at the least. I won't go into the breach as this is about passwords. Another Us government hack, Gary McKinnon used default passwords to gain access to 97 US military and NASA computers and even installed remote access software on, again, US military computers. IphoneOS used "dottie" and "alpine". And if anyone knows what Shodan can be used to find.

I think by this point, cyber-security awareness is prevalent enough now that most everyone understands the need to change default passwords for their systems. The challenge then becomes making sure everyone understands that password should then be of a certain length (at least 8 characters long) and of a complex nature. With processing power continuing to increase, the ability for malicious attackers to brute force passwords is growing and they can crack weak passwords in literal seconds. Using synchronous token generators, one-time pads, and bio-metrics are other robust options.