When I think about cybersecurity, I always think of passwords. It’s the first line of defense for almost all of my online accounts, but it’s a part of our security that we often overlook. A recent report about a McDonald’s chatbot showed that even major companies can make massive security mistakes by using incredibly weak passwords.
The chatbot, which was used to hire staff, was accessible with the username and password ‘123456’. Security researchers were able to gain full access to the application in just 30 minutes, potentially exposing the personal details of 64 million applicants. While the company behind the chatbot, Paradox.ai, quickly resolved the issue, this incident highlights the immense importance of strong passwords.
The Dangers of Reusing Passwords
One of the biggest mistakes we make is reusing passwords across different sites. For example, if you used your Co-op password for any other account, you should change that too after their recent data breach. Hackers often use stolen login credentials from one site and test them on thousands of other popular services. An estimated 6.5 million Co-op members had their details stolen, so if you are one of them, act now.
A simple way to avoid this is to use a password manager like Bitwarden. These tools can generate and store strong, unique passwords for every single account you have, so you don’t have to remember them all. It’s a small step that can make a huge difference in protecting your digital life.
What About Browser Extensions?
It’s not just websites and chatbots you need to be careful with. Security researchers have also urged users to uninstall 18 Chrome and Edge browser extensions that have infected 2.3 million users with malware. These extensions can track every URL you visit and send that data to hackers. The malware was added through an update that was automatically installed later, making it difficult for antivirus software to detect. You should be careful about which extensions you install and remove any you don’t recognize.
Co-op Hackers Steal Your Data. Computeractive – Issue 715, 30 July-12 August 2025.
McDonald’s chatbot used the password ‘123456’. Computeractive – Issue 715, 30 July-12 August 2025.
Uninstall 18 browser extensions that track your data online. Computeractive – Issue 715, 30 July-12 August 2025.
Stop hackers spying on your security camera. Computeractive – Issue 715, 30 July-12 August 2025.
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