Research reveals pets and sports teams among most easily guessed passwords

Aussies may be unknowingly making themselves vulnerable to hacking and cyber attacks as experts weigh in on how to better protect passwords.

One in five Aussies use a pet’s name in their password. Picture: Supplied

Aussies have been warned not become complacent with their online password security as new research reveals how most are exposing themselves to hacking and cyber attacks.

New research from Telstra has revealed nearly 80 per cent of the nation uses the same password across multiple accounts, while one in five use their pet’s name as their password.

According to the latest ScamWatch data, more than $194m has already been lost so far this year to scams and hacking, with many people’s “first line of defence” failing in line with concerning trends.

Telstra’s research has found nearly 80 per cent of the country uses the same password across multiple accounts. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Telstra cybersecurity expert Darren Pauli said bolstering password protection stopped individuals from becoming a “target” to scammers.

“Criminals are relentless and will exploit Australians’ tendency to use the same password across multiple accounts,” he said.

“All it takes is one breach and multiple accounts can be compromised.”

Telstra’s research found 20 per cent of Aussies used their pet’s name in passwords, while 13 per cent used generic words such as “password” or “123456”, though this trend was twice as common in men than women.

Birthdays and sporting teams were also common password features, with the latter most popular among millenials.

One in five Aussies use a pet’s name in their password. Picture: Supplied

These trends were observed among younger generations as well, with 23 per cent of gen Z and 21 per cent of millennials admitting they don’t securely set or manage their passwords.

In response to these results, Telstra has launched its Be SUSS campaign to help the community better protect themselves online.

This initiative urges Aussies to suspect unknown numbers, update their software as needed, strengthen their passwords, and switch on multi-factor authentication.

Multi-factor authentication is a setting that can be turned on that requires someone logging in to a site or account to use a combination of authentication methods, sometimes across multiple devices.

Telstra has urged Aussies to remember the ‘Be SUSS’ acronym. Picture: Supplied

Hackers often publish large lists of hacked usernames and passwords online, allowing other cyber criminals to easily access accounts on scale by automatically cycling through the logins.

Password manager apps, which are often built into web browsers, help people securely set and store more complex passwords.

Individuals have also been warned to use different passwords for different accounts despite 1.4 million Aussies admitting they use the same password across 10 or more different devices or accounts.

Mr Pauli also said a good password is often not what you’d expect.

“Contrary to popular belief, your best bet is to use a unique and easy to remember passphrase,” he said.

“(Be sure to) include a few capitals or special characters.”

More than 10 per cent of the 107,983 scam reports made to ScamWatch so far this year reported financial losses.

Telstra has reminded Aussies to never take a written-down password out of the house and to never share their passwords with anyone they don’t trust.