Keyboard diagonals are the new weak password hit

Passwords with patterns in them are the first to get cracked. As tempting as they might be, you should avoid passwords the create a visual pattern on your keyboard. — Photo: Christin Klose/dpa

BERLIN: “123456" has once again won the dubious honour of being the most widely used insecure password, according to a ranking compiled by cybersecurity experts in Germany.

But among the ranking of bad passwords in Germany, compiled every year by the country's Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) of digital engineering, there was a surprise in third place and a newcomer to the dubious password top ten.