TECH giant Google has issued an urgent security warning to 1.8 billion Gmail users.
In its latest advice, the Californian company is urging users to ditch their passwords.
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It comes after Microsoft ditched passwords in favour of passkeys as the default option to secure its online accounts for all new users.
Google’s Vice President of Privacy, Safety & Security, Evan Kotsovinos, has penned a blog post that aims to “strongly encourage” the email service’s 1.8 billion users to stop relying on passwords to secure their inbox.
He said: “We want to move beyond passwords altogether, while keeping sign-ins as easy as possible, so we strongly encourage using modern methods like Sign in with Google and passkeys, which can be stored in and synced across your devices with Google Password Manager.
“Passkeys are phishing-resistant and can log you in simply with the method you use to unlock your device (like your fingerprint or face ID) — no password required.
“And when you pair the ease and safety of passkeys with your Google Account, you can then use Sign in with Google to log in to your favorite websites and apps — limiting the number of accounts you have to maintain.”
Microsoft stated it blocked 7,000 attacks on passwords per second — almost double from a year ago.
At the same time, Microsft engineers witnessed so-called “adversary-in-the-middle” phishing attacks increase by 146% year over year.
In May 2024, Microsoft announced users could sign in to their favourite consumer apps and services, such as Xbox, Microsoft 365, or Microsoft Copilot, using a passkey
Researchers have now published a definitive list of the common passwords in 2025.
Avoid all of the most common passwords in 2025, experts caution
If you rely on any of the passwords included in our box below — change it immediately.
Without strong protection, hackers could break into your online account in a matter of seconds.
Here is a handy guide to some of the major issues facing the tech giants and what can be done:
- Researchers analysed 15 billon passwords published in data breaches.
- These were used to compile the most common passwords of 2025 – see below.
- Security experts warn every password in the list can be hacked in seconds.
- Weak passwords cause 30% of ransomware infections worldwide.
- Passkeys, password managers, and two-factor authentication boost security too.
Despite years of warnings, millions of users still rely on lacklustre passwords to keep accounts safe.
From saving accounts to email inboxes, social media posts to photo libraries, there’s plenty private data that could be accessed if someone gets their hands on a password.
Despite a steady stream of news stories about high-profile data breaches and hacks, the common passwords in 2025 can still be cracked in under a second, leaving personal information vulnerable to cybercriminals.
It comes as new research found that over 40 million Britons use the same password across multiple accounts.
What are the most common passwords?
After analysing 15 billion passwords from data breaches, the team at CyberNews has published the definitive list of the most common passwords in 2025, which should be avoided at all costs:
- 123456
- 123456789
- qwerty
- password
- 12345
- qwerty123
- 1q2w3e
- 12345678
- 111111
- 1234567890
