http://mashable.com/2012/02/20/whats-your-bank-card-pin-number-1111-or-1234-video/You shouldn’t be allowed to pick your own four-digit PIN numbers — and banks should start blacklisting the most common PINs, according to a team of British computer security researchers. Too many bank accounts are protected by the numbers “1111″ and “1234″, their study found.
Self-selected pins are so unsafe that if a thief were to steal enough wallets, he would be able to access a bank account with every 18th wallet — or every 10th wallet, if the cards come from banks that allow you to choose your own PINs. This form of stealing is called “jackpotting,” says to New York Times‘ Bits Blog.
The Cambridge University Computer Laboratory team determined self-selected PINs were extremely vulnerable by examining 32 million passwords on the social gaming website RockYou. They also looked at iPhone log-in codes and answers collected from online survey of 1,100 participants.
The study also found most people participant in many unsafe password practices. Over half of the participants shared their PINs with another person. One third of users use the same PIN for all credit/debit cards, and many users were seen to re-purpose PIN numbers for voicemail codes and Internet passwords.
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Worst Passwords of 2011 [STUDY] As a part of the experiment, members of the team went out to the streets with a list of common passwords. Five out of 20 people stopped on the street said they saw their PIN numbers on the page of most common passwords. Many used their date of birth, proving birthday-based guessing is the most effective strategy for thieves.
Researchers warn you should not use your birth date, in case you lose your wallet along with your identification cards. The study found 99% of people carried something that stated their birthdate in their wallet.
Orginal article: February 21, 2012 by Joann Pan
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Topic: What’s Your Bank Card PIN Number — 1111 or 1234? [VIDEO] (Read 3018 times)
