Artificial Intelligence has impressive abilities such as coding, storytelling, and explaining complex scientific theories. However, it can also perform one unfavorable task – deciphering passwords. According to a recent study by Home Security Heroes, Artificial Intelligence can efficiently crack common passwords within a few minutes or even seconds.
Home Security Heroes utilized an Artificial Intelligence tool named PassGAN to estimate the time required for cracking 15,600,000 commonly used passwords. PassGAN, a term that blends “password” and GAN (Generative Adversarial Network), uses a distinctive approach to crack passwords.
Rather than relying on traditional manual methods, it examines actual passwords obtained from security breaches. This automated technique poses a significant risk as it empowers malicious actors to break passwords faster and more efficiently.
Home Security Heroes analyzed common passwords and discovered that 81% of them could be decrypted in less than a month, 71% in less than a day, 65% in less than an hour, and 51% in less than a minute. Password length and complexity were critical factors in determining their vulnerability to hacking.
Even if a password consisted of a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, PassGAN could decipher a seven-character password in just six minutes. Furthermore, it required only three minutes to crack a 13-character password with numbers only. That is how powerful Artificial Intelligence can be.
Read more: 5 Best ChatGPT Alternatives in 2023
Creating a strong and lengthy password is advisable to increase the difficulty of cracking a password by Artificial Intelligence apps. Use at least 15 characters, including at least two uppercase and lowercase letters, numerals, and symbols, while avoiding common patterns such as real words.
To mitigate potential security breaches from Artificial Intelligence attacks, it is recommended to change passwords periodically, particularly if unauthorized access is suspected. Regularly updating passwords is crucial to maintaining security.
It is crucial to avoid using the same password for multiple accounts because if one password is compromised, hackers may gain access to all other accounts linked to that password.
