ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

New cybersecurity study revealed the 10 most common 4-digit PIN numbers — is yours on the list?

Despite numerous warnings, '1234' remains the most common four digit passcode.
UPDATED NOV 24, 2024
Representative image shows a woman changing her password at at ATM using her phone (Image source: Getty Images| Viktor Cvetkovic)
Representative image shows a woman changing her password at at ATM using her phone (Image source: Getty Images| Viktor Cvetkovic)

In the digital age, cybercriminals are always on the lookout for an opportunity to steal from honest working individuals. Despite this, many overlook one of the simplest yet most critical firewalls, the 4-digit PIN. A new cybersecurity study has revealed that 1234 is still the most common PIN in the world, along with several other easy-to-guess combinations. 

Representative image by Freepik
Representative image showing the importance of a secure password (Image source: Freepik)

Even though the 4-digit PINs are a small part of the overall security of accounts, they play a crucial role in safeguarding assets. With 10,000 possible combinations for a four-digit PIN, it would seem difficult for hackers to guess one. 

Representative image by Freepik
Representative image showing a lock on a credit card to describe a strong password (Image source: Freepik)

However, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, Jake Moore, told MailOnline that people continue to use easy-to-guess passcodes that make them an easy target for hackers. As per the expert, using date of birth, or memorable pattern of numbers is a common but compromising trend. Furthermore, people keep using the same passcodes for years, further creating issues. 

The data was originally compiled by the late Nick Berry, and presented in the "Data Genetics" report. It collected information on four-digit PINs that have been revealed by data breaches. About 3.4 million such PINs were then analyzed by Information is Beautiful, to create a comprehensive map and analysis.



 

Despite several warnings, '1234' remains the most common PIN making up almost 11% of the PINs analysed. The second most common PIN was another easy-to-guess combination of '1111', making up about 6% of all the PINs. The PINs '0000' and '1212', followed the two with each close to a 2% share of all passwords.

Rest of the most common four-digit PINs:

7777

1004

2000

4444

2222

6969

The Daily Mail report pointed out that with just 61 guesses, a hacker could crack one-third of the total passcodes analyzed. Despite the limitations on the number of guesses, with only 5 attempts, a hacker could guess 20% of the PINs.

The illustration also highlighted the least common PINs used as well. According to the data, the topper of the list was 8068, making up just 25 of the 3.4 million passcodes.

The other least popular PINs were: 

8093

8398

7638

8428

8285

7583

6835

8629

7539

According to US Bank, there are some strategies to create unique PINs to help maximize security. One of the popular strategies is the "Word Method". In this, the numbers of the PINs are associated with a word and mapped to a phone keypad. For instance, the word "SAFE" would translate to the PIN 7233. 



 

Similarly, a letter from a unique personal acronym can also be used to create a secure, random PIN. However, it is important to avoid palindromes and repeating digits to make the PIN harder to guess.  

In addition to birth dates, other common memorable dates like a pet's birthday can be used to create a unique but memorable PIN. Apart from choosing random, hard-to-guess PINs, it is also recommended to keep changing PINs from time to time to maximize protection. Furthermore, it is recommended to use different PINs for different accounts.

This article originally appeared 2 months ago.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The guest's mother had initially advised her father against purchasing it but he did it anyway.
7 hours ago
The entreprenuer knew he had an ace up his sleeve and he played it to perfection.
9 hours ago
Thankfully, the contestant was up for the task and was able to silence any doubters on the show.
11 hours ago
Things could have been real messy had the host not reacted in time and prevented the setback.
13 hours ago
The product had its doubters, but, in the end, the entrepreneurs were able to make a lasting impact.
1 day ago
Things were not looking too good at one point as most of the sharks had backed out... until the end.
2 days ago
A number of episodes with the icon reprising his role as host will be released this year.
2 days ago
She had only believed that her items were worth a thousand bucks and that was not the case.
2 days ago
The host wasn't expecting such unusual answers to be among the top options.
2 days ago
He was able to get the puzzle right just in the nick of time in order to win a significant amount of cash.
2 days ago
The host seemed pretty confident that the answer was in no way going to be correct.
3 days ago
The history attached to the flag is tragic, and it personally affected the guest.
3 days ago
The product was unique and could help millions of new mothers around the globe.
4 days ago
Viewers believe that the game show sometimes doesn't allow participants to win multiple prizes.
4 days ago
Harvey was clearly annoyed by the answer and refused to buy any explanation.
4 days ago
After his impressive 74 winning streak, Ken Jennings has been hosting the show since 2022 with a $4 million paycheck.
4 days ago
Drew Carey was supposed to look scary, but the host ended up being funny and awkward.
4 days ago
Steve Harvey mocked Snoop Dogg over his choice and went on to roast the rapper more.
4 days ago
It seemed like she was going to lose her chance of winning, but that was not the case after all.
4 days ago
The host is clearly not a fan of hyping up answers that he doesn't personally approve of.
5 days ago