Password Security Statistics 2026

Stolen or compromised credentials are involved in 22% of all confirmed data breaches worldwide, according to the 2025 Verizon DBIR. The average breach now costs $4.44 million globally — and $10.22 million in the United States — while 62% of Americans still reuse the same password across multiple accounts.

This page collects verified password security statistics from primary sources: the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report, FIDO Alliance Passkey Index, and NordPass. Every figure is cited so you can reference and verify it directly.

Updated: May 2026. Primary sources: Verizon DBIR 2025, IBM 2025, NordPass 2025, FIDO Alliance 2025.

1. Credential Theft & Data Breach Statistics

Stolen passwords and credentials remain the leading initial access vector in cyberattacks globally. The following statistics are drawn from the 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which analysed 12,195 confirmed breaches.

• 88% of attacks targeting basic web applications relied on stolen credentials — making credential theft the dominant web attack technique. (Verizon DBIR 2025)
• 19% of all authentication attempts at SSO providers are credential stuffing attacks on any given day. (Verizon DBIR 2025)
• 193 billion credential stuffing attempts occur every year, with 2025 on track to match or exceed this. (Akamai)
• Only 3% of compromised passwords found in breach databases met basic complexity requirements. (Verizon DBIR 2025)
• In the median compromised account, only 49% of a user's passwords were unique — meaning half were reused from other accounts. (Verizon DBIR 2025, infostealer data)
• Vulnerability exploitation grew 34% year-over-year as attackers diversified initial access beyond pure credential theft. (Verizon DBIR 2025)

2. Password Habits: Reuse, Weakness & Human Behaviour

The weakest link in most security chains is human behaviour. These statistics from NordPass, Google/Harris Poll, and Bitwarden surveys reveal how people actually manage passwords — and the gap between confidence and reality.

• The typical password-reuser relies on just 3 “core” passwords to unlock approximately 5 different accounts. (NordPass 2025)
• 1 in 2 reusers say they do it because it is “easier to remember fewer passwords.” (NordPass 2025)
• 1 in 3 say they feel overwhelmed by the number of services requiring a password each month. (NordPass 2025)
• 66% of people recycle the same password across multiple accounts — consistent with NordPass findings. (Google/Harris Poll)
• 51% admitted using one “favourite” password for the majority of their accounts. (Google/Harris Poll)
• 33% base passwords on a pet's name; 22% use their own name; 15% use a partner's name; 14% use a child's name. (Google/Harris Poll)
• Despite poor habits, 69% of respondents gave themselves an A or B grade for online security, and 59% believed they were better than average. (Google/Harris Poll)

3. The Cost of a Data Breach

Data breach costs represent the total financial impact including detection, containment, notification, legal fees, lost business, and reputational damage. IBM has tracked this metric annually since 2003.

• The global average fell 9% from $4.88M in 2024, partly due to AI-assisted detection and containment. (IBM 2025)
• Healthcare remains the most expensive industry at $7.42M per breach on average — down from $9.77M the prior year. (IBM 2025)
• Organizations using security AI cut breach lifecycle by 80 days and saved an average of $1.9M per incident. (IBM 2025)
• Phishing overtook stolen credentials as the #1 initial attack vector in 2025, costing an average of $4.8M per breach. (IBM 2025)
• Supply chain compromise was the costliest vector at $4.91M and slowest to detect at an average of 267 days. (IBM 2025)
• “Shadow AI” — unapproved AI tools used by employees — added an extra $670,000 to average breach cost. (IBM 2025)

4. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Adoption

MFA significantly reduces the effectiveness of credential theft. Adoption rates vary widely between enterprise and consumer contexts.

• SMS-based 2FA remains the most vulnerable form — SIM-swapping attacks have enabled account takeovers even with 2FA active. Authenticator apps (TOTP) and hardware keys are significantly more resistant.
• Moving from SMS to an authenticator app is considered the single highest-ROI security upgrade for most consumers — it eliminates the most common account-takeover vector with minimal effort.

5. Passkeys & Passwordless Authentication

Passkeys are cryptographic credentials stored on your device that replace passwords entirely. Unlike passwords, a passkey never leaves your device — the server only holds a public key, meaning there is nothing to steal in a server breach. FIDO Alliance data from 2025 shows adoption accelerating sharply.

• 69% of users now have at least one passkey registered — up from 39% awareness just two years earlier. (FIDO Alliance 2025)
• 75% of global consumers are now aware of passkeys. (FIDO Alliance 2025)
• 48% of the world's top 100 websites now support passkey authentication — more than double the 2022 figure. (FIDO Alliance 2025)
• Passkeys achieve a 93% login success rate vs 63% for traditional MFA. (FIDO Alliance Passkey Index, October 2025)
• Average login time drops from 31.2 seconds with MFA to 8.5 seconds with passkeys. (FIDO Alliance 2025)
• Passkeys show a 30% lift in conversion over password-based login flows in A/B testing. (FIDO Alliance Passkey Index)
• The passwordless authentication market reached $24.1 billion in 2025, projected to reach $55.7 billion by 2030 (18.24% CAGR). (Market research 2025)

For a plain-English explainer, see our guide: What is a passkey and how does it work?

6. Most Common Passwords in 2025

NordPass analysed public breach databases from September 2024 to September 2025 to identify the most commonly used passwords globally. Every password in the top 10 can be cracked in under one second by modern hardware.

Source: NordPass Most Common Passwords Report 2025

Using any of these passwords? Change it now. Use our free password generator to create a 16+ character random alternative — no sign-up, nothing stored.

7. Password Manager Adoption

• Approximately 34% of internet users actively use a password manager, despite widespread awareness of the password reuse problem. (Various surveys, 2025)
• Top reasons people don't use one: “I don't need one” (38%), “worried about all passwords in one place” (33%), “they cost money” (17%). (Bitwarden World Password Day Survey 2025)
• Password manager adoption is highest among IT professionals (~70%) and lowest among adults over 65 (~14%).
• Bitwarden and 1Password consistently rank as the most recommended tools by security practitioners — Bitwarden for open-source trust, 1Password for enterprise UX and Travel Mode.

See our detailed guides: Bitwarden vs 1Password comparison and best LastPass alternatives in 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage of data breaches are caused by stolen passwords?

22% of all confirmed data breaches in 2025 involved stolen or compromised credentials as the initial access vector (Verizon DBIR 2025). For attacks specifically targeting web applications, that figure rises to 88%.

How much does a data breach cost on average?

The average global cost of a data breach was $4.44 million in 2025 (IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025). In the United States the average is $10.22 million — more than double the global figure. Healthcare remains the most expensive industry at $7.42 million per breach.

What is the most common password in 2025?

“123456” has topped the NordPass global list for six of the past seven years. In the United States, “admin” was the most common password in the 2025 report. Every password in the top 10 can be cracked instantly. Use our password generator to create a random alternative.

How many people use a password manager?

Approximately 34% of internet users actively use a password manager. Adoption is highest among IT professionals (around 70%) and considerably lower among older demographics. Despite awareness of reuse risks, most people still rely on memory alone.

Are passkeys safer than passwords?

Yes. Passkeys achieve a 93% login success rate versus 63% for traditional MFA, and they are phishing-resistant by design — the server never holds your credential, so there is nothing to steal in a breach. Over one billion people have activated at least one passkey as of 2025 (FIDO Alliance). Learn more in our passkey explainer.

What happens if I reuse a password?

If one service holding your reused password suffers a breach, attackers automatically test the stolen credentials against email providers, banks, and other accounts in a “credential stuffing” attack. Since 19% of all SSO authentication attempts are credential stuffing on any given day (Verizon DBIR 2025), a single reused password can cascade into multiple account takeovers within hours of a breach.

Conclusion

The data is unambiguous: password-based authentication remains the dominant breach vector, reuse is near-universal, and the financial consequences are measured in millions. The solutions are available — most of them free.

A browser-only password generator creates cryptographically random credentials that eliminate the weak-password problem entirely. A free password manager like Bitwarden solves reuse without requiring you to memorise dozens of strings. And passkeys, now supported by over one billion accounts, are beginning to make the password itself optional.

Sources & Methodology

• Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2025 — verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
• IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025 — ibm.com/reports/data-breach
• NordPass Most Common Passwords 2025 — nordpass.com/most-common-passwords-list/
• NordPass Password Reuse Survey 2025 — nordpass.com/blog/stop-reusing-passwords/
• FIDO Alliance Passkey Index, October 2025 — fidoalliance.org
• Google/Harris Poll Password Security Survey — Infosecurity Magazine
• Akamai State of the Internet Security — Credential Stuffing Report
• Bitwarden World Password Day Survey 2025 — bitwarden.com