Experts recommend why passwords must be at least 8 characters long-Information Technology

According to a report by cybersecurity company Hive Systems (Virginia, USA), if you use numbers as a password, hackers can easily ‘crack’ in the blink of an eye.

Researchers discovered that passwords with eight characters (including numbers, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and symbols) can be cracked by hackers within eight hours. Of course, passwords of shorter length will be detected immediately in a few minutes by specialized devices.

Meanwhile, an 18-character password (using a combination of numbers, lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and symbols) can take up to 438 trillion years to crack, according to Hive Systems.

Experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology also support Hive Systems’ advice, and recommend that users use passwords that are at least 8 characters long, preferably 11 characters or more. .

Hive Systems used data from the HowSecureIsMyPassword tool to determine the average password cracking speed of hackers.

Hashed passwords cannot be changed because they are generated using one-way algorithms. But hackers can make a list of every possible combination of characters on your keyboard, and then hash those combinations themselves using the most commonly used software programs. At that point, the hacker just needs to search for matching passwords in their list to determine your original password.

It’s a complicated process, but it becomes simpler for hackers with specialized equipment, Hive Systems notes. That’s why using long, complex passwords is the best way to protect important accounts.

Specifically, passwords with 4-8 characters (which are numbers) can be cracked instantly, while passwords with 9 characters will be detected within 10 seconds. An 11-character combination password would take a hacker about 34 years to crack.

The report also encourages users not to use the same password for multiple accounts and services.