We can now add easily cracking passwords in a matter of seconds to the list of things that AI can do.
Cybersecurity firm Home Security Heroes recently published a study uncovering how AI tools analyze passwords and then use that data to crack the most common passwords used on the web.
Using the PassGAN tool, the firm was able to figure out common four- to seven-character passwords in seconds. It also didn’t matter if there was variation in uppercase and lowercase letters or if numbers were included. The shorter and more simple passwords were easier for the tool to crack.
PassGAN uses the latest Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) machine learning model that has been fed over 15 million common passwords. These passwords have been derived from the RockYou data set, which has collected information from popular breaches of companies such as MySpace and Facebook. The RockYou data set has become a commonplace source for machine learning password-cracking models, according to Tom’s Hardware.
PassGAN was able to crack passwords with up to six characters instantly until symbols were included — for those, it took at least four seconds. The tool was able to crack passwords with up to seven characters instantly until they included uppercase and lowercase letters; then it took at least 22 seconds.
Overall, the study determined that passwords longer than 12 characters with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols were the most challenging to crack. For example, a 15-character password with such a mix would take 14 billion years for AI to crack, according to PassGAN.
However, in common practice, most users are still very much at risk for a password breach. Home Security Heroes notes that for most of the common passwords, at least 51% of those tested were cracked in less than a minute. Many that are more challenging can still be figured out with time; 65% of common passwords can be cracked in less than an hour, 71% in less than a day, and 81% in less than a month.
Tom’s Hardware noted via Statista that six out of 10 Americans have a password between eight to 11 characters. While an 11-character password with uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols can put you in the safe zone of 356 years to crack, many users might still be at risk with shorter, less unique passwords.
Users should keep in mind common password safety practices such as not keeping the same passwords for multiple accounts, changing passwords regularly, and using trusted password managers.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.