Category Archives: Research

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Research reveals the most commonly used PIN numbers…

10 per cent of PINs can be guessed in just one attempt

Research has revealed that one in ten PINs can be correctly guessed first time. The most commonly used numbers have been revealed, with 10% of the population still using 1234.

Researchers found 17 per cent of people in Europe have suffered identity fraud. Credit card fraud cost the UK more than £388 million in 2012.

Despite a rise in credit card fraud, the most commonly-used PIN is still 1234, with 1111 and 0000 coming in second and third.

Studies have shown that one in ten codes is so obvious that it would take criminals just one attempt to guess it correctly, while more than a quarter of the codes are used so often they can be guessed in fewer than 20 attempts.

Researchers from DataGenetics, a technology consultancy, analysed 3.4 million four-digit codes and found that many people use birth years as PINs, making it even easier for hackers to guess a code simply by finding out a person’s age from online accounts.

Additional research carried out by security experts McAfee found that 17 per cent of people in Europe have been victims of credit card fraud, at a cost of £1,076 per person.

The total cost of credit card fraud in the UK last year from criminals hacking and cloning cards was £42.1 million and the total amount of fraud committed through all credit card-related crimes was £388 million.

There are 10,000 possible combinations for four-digit PIN codes using 0 to 9.

The majority of PINs in the DataGenetics list began with the number one, which may be due to the popularity of using birth years. Zero and two were also popular. The higher the number, the lower its frequency.

The majority of PINs in the DataGenetics list began with the number one, which may be due to the popularity of using birth years. Zero and two were also popular. The higher the number, the lower its frequency.

DataGenetics unlocks data held in large databases. In producing its findings it used data from previously released password tables and security breaches. By combining the password databases, researchers filtered the results to show just four-digit numbers and were able to analyse 3.4 million four-digit passwords.

They discovered that all of the possible 10,000 combinations – from 0000 to 9999 – were found in the data list.

The most popular password was 1234, but the amount of times this number occurred ‘staggered’ the researchers – almost 11 per cent of the 3.4 million passwords were 1234.

This PIN was also more popular than the 4,200 codes at the bottom of the list combined.

The next most popular 4-digit PIN was 1111, used more than 6 per cent of times.

Data Genetics compiled a list of the top 20 passwords and found that 26.83 per cent of all the passwords in the list could be guessed by attempting these 20 combinations.

The researchers said:

… Statistically, with 10,000 possible combinations, if passwords were uniformly randomly distributed, we would expect these twenty passwords to account for just 0.2 per cent of the total, not the 26.83 per cent encountered.

The more popular password selections dominate the frequency tables and the study found that 10 per cent of PINs could be guessed correctly first time.

More than 20 per cent could be guessed by using just five attempts and statistically, one third of all codes could be guessed by trying just 61 distinct combinations.

The data found that the least-used code was 8068 with just 25 appearances in 3.4 million – far fewer than random distribution would predict.

The researchers also noted that many of the high-frequency PINs could be interpreted as years because many began with 19, for example, 1984, 1967 and so on.

This could be a birth year or anniversary and if a hacker can guess someone’s age, or even obtain it through birth records or online accounts, for example, they could make an educated guess at the PIN.

The majority of PINs in the DataGenetics list began with the number one, which may be due to the popularity of using birth years.

The numbers zero and two were also popular.

The research found that the higher the number from 0-9, the lower its frequency at the start of the code.

Another study by Google Apps found that a pet’s name is the most common online password.

As many as one in six people use their pet’s name as a password.

One is six Britons admitted accessing someone else’s account by guessing the password, with partners the most common target.

TOP 10 POPULAR PINS

  1. 1234
  2. 1111
  3. 0000
  4. 1212
  5. 7777
  6. 1004
  7. 2000
  8. 4444
  9. 2222
  10. 6969
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Health, Medical, Research, Science

Electronic devices in children’s bedrooms should be banned….

… Concentration and behaviour were affected when children were allowed to have TVs or computers in their bedrooms

Scientists say that TVs and computers for children should be banned from their bedrooms. Children who watch TV in the bedroom are less likely to exercise and be tired at bedtime – with researchers insisting that getting a good night’s sleep is particularly important for pre-teens.

Scientists have warned that electronic devices can disturb sleep, leading to memory problems and poorer marks in school.

Researchers from Finland asked 353 children aged 10 to 11 about their TV and computer use and their sleeping habits and quizzed them again 18 months later.

The more a child played on the computer or watched the TV, the later they went to bed. They also slept less on school nights.

Findings reported in the journal BMC Public Health says that having a TV or computer in the bedroom appeared to be particularly disruptive for boys.

The Finnish researchers, based at the University of Helsinki, said that children who play a lot on computers may exercise far less and so be less tired at bedtime.

Hormonal changes, particularly during puberty, brought on by the light of the screens could also make it more difficult to get to sleep.

Researcher Teija Nuutinen, of the University of Helsinki, said that electronic devices should be kept out of children’s bedrooms, and added:

… Children need extra sleep as they go through puberty but our study finds that TV and computer use affect the sleep of children. 

… This is especially true during the week and may be impacting their school work as well as their development. 

… Media viewing habits should be considered for children who are tired and struggling to concentrate, or who have behaviour problems caused by lack of sleep.

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Health, Medical, Research, Science

Five cups of tea a day ‘reduces’ prostate cancer risk…

FLAVONOIDS LINKED TO REDUCED RISK

Research has shown that drinking five or more cups of tea a day lowers the risk of advanced prostate cancer by a third.

Men who drink five or more cups daily have a 33 per cent lower risk of developing stage IV prostate cancer.

Scientists also found that men have a 25 per cent reduced risk of reaching stage II, compared with those who drink just one cup a day.

Stage II is where the tumour has grown inside the prostate gland but not spread. By stage IV the cancer has typically spread to the lymph nodes, bones or liver.

It is believed naturally occurring compounds in tea called flavonoids inhibit cancer cells from forming tumours.

The good news is that it doesn’t matter if you have milk, sugar, sweetener or lemon in your tea. The health benefits are not reduced.

Scientists in the Netherlands analysed data on 58,279 men and found 3,362 cases of prostate cancer, including 1,164 who were at an advanced stage of prostate cancer.

By finding out how much tea the men drank and what foods they ate, they were able to compare their lack of flavonoid intake with their health record.

Dr Milan Geybels is lead researcher at Maastricht University. In a statement he said:

… We had data on tumour stage for most cases which made it possible to stratify data against the stage of the disease.

… Our study included a large number of advanced stage prostate cancers.

One cup of tea provides about 150-200mg of flavonoids and it is the richest source in the British diet.

Each year about 41,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer and almost 11,000 die from the disease.

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