A new study shows that Canadians are still using easily-guessed passwords, despite increased concerns around cyber security.

Around 70 per cent of the 200 most common passwords in the country can be cracked in under a second. The most prevalent being “123456”, “admin” and “welcome”.

Local tech expert, Kevin Andrews, says the study shows a persistent vulnerability online for Canadians. He suggests moving to a new password method called “passkeys”.

Passkeys are pairs of automatic created keys, where one is stored on the user’s device or password manager, and the other on the site or app. Andrews says the technology is set to become the standard.