When it comes to picking a strong password for their banking or social media, an astonishing number of Aussies may be dropping the ball.
A new nationwide survey conducted by YouGov for Telstra has revealed one-in-ten Aussies are using their favourite sports team for their password.
It's one of several damning findings into password safety, in a year where Australians have already lost $194 million to scams and hacking.
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The research commissioned by Telstra revealed that 78 per cent of the country are using the same password across multiple accounts - a move that Telstra's Cyber Security Expert Darren warns against.
"Your password is the first line of defence when it comes to your online safety so don't make it easy for scammers to make you a target," Paul said.
"Criminals are relentless and will exploit Australians' tendency to use the same password across multiple accounts," he said.
"All it takes is one breach and multiple accounts can be compromised."
Besides the all-too-high chance that Aussies used their favourite sports team, more than one in ten Australians admitted to using a generic password - something like "password, 123abc, or 123456."
A full 20 per cent used their pets name and 17 percent used their own name.
If those facts weren't bad enough on their own, a staggering 1.5 million Aussies say they keep their passwords somewhere easy to find and 1.2 million keep them in their wallet/purse.
Telstra's experts also shared their best advice on picking a better password than your own first name:
"Contrary to popular belief, your best bet is to use a unique and easy to remember passphrase including a few capitals or special characters."
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