Predictable Passwords

Sports fans may not always be rational, but they are predictable and that makes them vulnerable to computer hackers.

Hackers know that some of the most common computer passwords chosen by employees are the names of their favorite sports teams, according to the fraud and forensic accounting group of Deloitte & Touche, a large accounting agency.

Todd Fenner, a director in the company’s Los Angeles office, said “employers in both New England and Wisconsin should be cranking out memos this week warning their employees not to use ‘Patriots’ or ‘Packers’ as computer passwords.”

After the Chicago Bulls won the NBA Championship last year, one of Deloitte’s experts conducted a security audit for one of the company’s largest clients in Chicago. He was able to break into more than 40 files by using “Bulls” as his password.

About 75% of all passwords can be broken because they are too simple, said Fenner, who added that employees also tend to use their middle names, spouses’ names or children’s names as passwords.

*

Greg Miller covers high technology for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at greg.miller@latimes.com