“Passwords are the most important factor in securing your accounts. But you should also pay attention to your usernames.”
You can take all the right steps to create and maintain secure passwords for your online accounts. But what about your username? If you're like most people, you probably use your first or full name as your username on various websites. But that strategy can also make you vulnerable
NordPass revealed the 200 most popular usernames based on research from a white hat hacker. The most common username was ยศกร, which means "title" in Thai. In second place was David, followed by Alex, Maria, Anna, Marco, Antonio, Daniel and then Andrea, all real names of people. The remaining selections of the top 200 were all first names used in various countries around the world.
The point behind the study was to highlight the tendency to use real names as usernames, a maneuver that can lead to problems. When a hacker targets data during a breach, they look for any type of information they can easily capture, including usernames. The more common or obvious a username, the easier it is to obtain.
For example, Snapchat suffered a data breach in 2014, during which the attackers downloaded 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers. Because many people used their own names or surnames as usernames, they were easy for hackers to identify. Furthermore, cybercriminals who obtain your username and phone number can launch social engineering attacks with messages such as: "You are receiving this text message from Snapchat and we need you to verify your password for account johnsmith."
Some websites have implemented tightened security policies around usernames. In some cases, sites will now determine if your username is unique. If not, the site will not let you register or create an account.
