Many articles have been written about weak passwords, yet still many casual internet users and more shockingly, many business users still do not use strong passwords to protect their information.

A recent global security study done by Trustwave details the current threats to user data and identifies the vulnerabilities that persist within organizations. The study found that weak passwords were the top cause of data breaches. To demonstrate the simplicity of passwords used, here is the list of the 10 passwords that were identified:

1. 123456
2. 123456789
3. 1234
4. password
5. 12345
6. 12345678
7. admin
8. 123
9. 111111
10. 1234567

As more and more businesses are moving their data to the cloud and allowing employees to use their own devices for work, it is becoming increasingly crucial to ensure user’s accounts are using strong passwords providing a first line of defense against hackers.

The study also found “the number of breached organizations with outsourced IT functions fell 17%” from the previous year’s study. As networks become increasingly more complex, monitoring and responding to potential incidents requires a highly specialized skill and around the clock monitoring