Love for sports could lead to poor password practices

33% of Americans have used a sports-related term in a password, according to Bitwarden.

Those who have are twice as likely to have used one inspired by a professional sports team (46%) versus a college sports team (22%). 49% of Americans aged 18-34 have used a sports-related password, making them the largest age group to do so (compared to 41% ages 35-44, 29% ages 45-54, 23% ages 55-64 and 15% ages 65+), highlighting the prevalence of weak password practices, and the risks of using an easily guessed passwords.

Where you live also seems to have an impact, since Americans living in the Midwest (25%) are the least likely to have used a sports-related password compared to 32% in the Northeast, 35% in the South and 35% in the West.

Soccer unites women and men in password choices

Among those who have used a sports-related password:

• Football (56%) is most popular, followed by basketball (40%) and baseball (28%)
• 43% of women aged 18-34 report that basketball inspired their password
• 51% of adults ages 18-34 say football or basketball (51% each) inspired their passwords, followed by baseball (28%)
• 25% of adults aged 35-44 have used terms related to a collegiate sports team
• Women and men are both equally likely to be inspired by soccer for their passwords (20% each)
• Those in the South are more likely than those in the Northeast or West to say football inspired their password (61% vs. 48% and 49%) while those in the Northeast are more likely than those in the South or West to be inspired by baseball (42% vs. 22% and 28%)

Sports-related passwords compromised in 20% of cases

As much as people may like using sports-related passwords, those who have used a sports-related password are making some serious security mistakes along the way.

20% of Americans report their sports-related password has been compromised, and 75% admit to reusing their sports-related password across multiple accounts.

Men (79%) are more likely than women (69%) to reuse the same sports-related password for more than one account. Those who have used a sports-related password have reused the same password for 4 accounts, on average.

“It’s easy to fall into insecure habits, like opting for simple, easy-to-remember passwords. However, ensuring you have strong and unique passwords for every account is also easy with a password manager,” said Michael Crandell, CEO, Bitwarden. “While our favorite teams and players may be top of mind this season, common or easily guessed words should not be at the top of our password list. Password managers simplify password creation and management, while also strengthening online security with strong and unique passwords for each account.”