To prevent further cyber-attacks, new online laws are being introduced in the UK this month to increase consumer confidence and security when buying products.
Easy-to-guess passwords, such as "admin" or "12345", two of the most common among Britons - as well as the password... "password". All of these have been banned since Monday under what is, according to Sky News, the world's first legislation to protect against cyber-attacks.
If a user tries to use one of these basic passwords, they will be asked to change it when creating a new account.
Lauren Russell
The changes are part of the Security of Telecommunications Products and Infrastructures (PSTI) regime, designed to improve the UK's resilience to cyber-attacks and ensure that malicious interference does not affect the UK and global economy in general.
Manufacturers of any device with an internet connection have this week become obliged to apply minimum security standards and publish contact details so that faults and problems can be reported and resolved, and to inform consumers of the minimum deadline for receiving important security updates.
"From today, consumers will have greater peace of mind knowing that their smart devices are protected from cyber criminals. We are committed to making the UK the safest place in the world to be online and these new regulations mark a significant leap towards a safer digital world," said technology and science minister Viscount Camrose.
In the space of a week alone, a household with several devices connected to the Internet can be exposed to more than 12,000 cyber attacks - that's around 2684 attempts to guess passwords, according to research by Which.
The most used passwords in the UK last year were even obvious ones, according to the NordPass list:
- 123456
- password
- qwerty
- liverpool
- 123456789
- arsenal
- 12345678
- 12345
- abc123
- chelsea
