Top dangerous PIN codes

ABC News journalists analyzed 29 million leaked PIN codes from the Have I Been Pwned database and came to a disappointing conclusion: about 10% of users choose banal, easily guessed combinations to protect their devices.

The absolute “leader” is 1234, which has become a symbol of digital peace of mind.

Top of dangerous PIN codes

• 1234 1111 0000 1342 1212 2222 4444 1122 1986 2020
• 7777 5555 1989 9999 6969 2004 1010 4321 6666 1984
• 1987 1985 8888 2000 1980 1988 1982 2580 1313 1990
• 1991 1983 1978 1979 1995 1994 1977 1981 3333 1992
• 1975 2005 1993 1976 1996 2002 1973 2468 1998 1974

The widespread use of birth years – from 1973 to 2005 – was not a surprise. There are even such combinations as 6969, 1342 and 1010, which seem more complicated, but in practice are also predictable and often found at the heart of leaks.

Let’s recall that there are 10,000 possible combinations of four digits. However, due to the human tendency to choose obvious numbers that are easy to remember, attackers most often need to sort through only a few dozen options.

If your code is on this list, immediately change it to a less predictable sequence.