We get it. Thinking of another password that you haven’t used before can be frustrating – especially when we have to change or update our passwords so regularly. But while it might be tempting to use your favourite sports teams and clubs as passwords, it’s a risky move for your cyber security.
Using unique passwords and password authentication solutions is vital for your web and cloud security, protecting your private and business cloud data and accounts from cyber-attacks. That way if one password is compromised, cyber criminals can’t access the rest of your online accounts with the same term.
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To find out which sports passwords are the most likely to get hacked, we collected data revealing the most frequently leaked sports-related passwords. We analysed passwords relating to UK and US sports teams which have been compromised in data breaches, ranking each one by how many times they’ve been leaked.
From the Premier League to the NFL, find out which sports teams are the most vulnerable to cyber attacks as we dive into the most hackable sports-related passwords below.
In this guide:
No matter how much you love the beautiful game, using your favourite football club could put your cyber security at risk. We found that Premier League football clubs were among the most likely to get hacked, as they’re most frequently compromised by data leaks.
Let’s take a look at the most vulnerable teams to use as passwords:
Liverpool F.C. were the top team associated with data leaks among UK football clubs, appearing in more than 970,000 data leaks. According to our data, terms relating to Liverpool report the highest figures for password breaches across all UK football teams.
Chelsea was next on our list of teams to avoid, ranking second with more than 730,000 data leaks.
Ranking third, passwords relating to Arsenal appeared in more than 600,000 data leaks, making it a dangerous choice for any cloud and web accounts.
With more than 190,000 data leaks, Everton F.C. are among the top five most hackable Premier-League-related passwords in the UK.
Rounding out the top five, don’t let your love of the Red Devils put your data and accounts at risk. According to our data, passwords relating to Manchester United have been compromised more than 72,000 times.
North American sports have grown a huge following in the UK, in part thanks to free-to-air broadcasters, subscription-based channels, and the rise of online streaming services providing wider access to international sports. Last year, Super Bowl 58 drew more than a million UK viewers, breaking Sky Sports and ITV records.
To find out which US sports passwords are the most open to attacks, we also analysed data revealing how many times US sports-related passwords have been leaked by cyber hacks.
Here are the top 10 most susceptible US sports passwords overall – including the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL:
When analysing passwords related to NFL (National Football League) teams, a few key teams emerged as the most vulnerable to cyber threats. Teams from Texas, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin had the weakest password security:
Passwords that included Texas legends the Dallas Cowboys were the most at risk of security breaches, appearing in more than 185,800 data leaks.
Following closely behind the Dallas Cowboys, Nevada’s Las Vegas Raiders rank as the second-most vulnerable team to use in a password. The Las Vegas Raiders appeared in more than 185,600 password leaks, making them unsafe to use.
Featuring in more than 146,300 data leaks, the Pittsburgh Steelers rank as the third most vulnerable team to use for password security.
According to our data, Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles are a high-risk choice for password security. The Eagles appeared in more than 122,900 password leaks.
Concluding our top five most compromised NFL-related passwords, passwords relating to the Green Bay Packers have been leaked by cyber-attacks more than 92,000 times.
The NBA (National Basketball Association) is one of the most popular leagues in the world, entertaining North American and international fans alike. In recent years, UK viewership of the NBA has soared thanks to increased game accessibility. But what are the weakest NBA-related passwords?
Naturally, some of the most popular and successful NBA teams are among the most at risk. The top five include:
Outranking any other team, Oklahoma City Thunder has the most related passwords that have appeared in data breaches – exposing more than 174,400 passwords.
According to our data, the second-most susceptible team to use for password security is Orlando Magic. More than 149,400 related passwords are at risk of cyber threats – so think twice about including them in any web security information.
Ranking third, passwords associated with Californian legends the LA Lakers appeared in more than 118,100 data leaks, putting thousands of users at risk of cyber threats.
Featuring in more than 69,500 data leaks, the San Antonio Spurs are among the top five most hackable NBA-related passwords sports fans could use.
Finally, after appearing in more than 46,000 data leaks, passwords relating to the Sacramento Kings are also among the most at risk of security compromises.
We also considered the potential risk factor of passwords inspired by Major League Baseball teams, revealing which teams have been involved in the most data lapses. Check out the top five teams at risk below:
In the MLB, the New York Yankees had the weakest password security with passwords relating to the team appearing in a whopping 198,870 password leaks.
Ranking second, terms associated with the Texas Rangers appeared in more than 144,700 password leaks – putting thousands of users at risk of unauthorised access.
The Detroit Tigers from Michigan appeared in more than 124,300 data breaches, placing them among the top three most susceptible teams to use as a password.
With more than 105,900 password leaks, the LA Angels are one of the most hackable baseball related passwords in the UK.
Finally, passwords that include terms relating to the LA Dodgers are among the top five weakest in the MLB, after featuring in over 64,120 security breaches.
There’s no doubt that the NHL (National Hockey League) is growing its international appeal, with NHL teams playing various games across Europe in recent years – including London. While interest in the NHL may not be as popular as other North American sports leagues in the UK, there are still thousands of related passwords that have been compromised by cyber assaults.
If you’re an avid fan of action on the ice, you may want to reconsider using NHL teams for your password security. The top five weakest passwords included terms relating to some of the top NHL teams in the league. Let’s take a look:
Coming out on top with the weakest password security potential, the New York Rangers appeared in more than 143,900 leaked passwords in the UK. Don’t let your passion for the four-time Stanley Cup winners compromise your web security – make sure you use strong, unique passwords across all your accounts.
Following the New York Rangers, passwords associated with Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, appeared in over 69,200 data leaks.
We highly recommend that you avoid using Texas hockey heroes, the Dallas Stars, in your password security. Ranking third for the most hackable team passwords in the National Hockey League, security terms relating to the Dallas Stars appeared in over 56,200 data breaches.
According to our data, the LA Kings were crowned among the top five weakest NHL-related passwords – with inspired terms featuring in more than 46,000 password leaks online.
Despite reporting the lowest number of security breaches among all of our top five lists of hackable sports passwords, security terms associated with Tampa Bay Lighting still appeared in over 43,000 data leaks.
Like a goalkeeper on the ice, using effective password and security solutions can help ensure your online data is locked tight.
If you recognise any of these teams from your personal collection of passwords, or you use the same term across multiple accounts – this is your sign to update your password security.
Using weak passwords across multiple platforms could compromise your web security if someone tries to hack your online accounts. This includes your private and business cloud data, payment processing accounts like PayPal – which may have a direct link to your bank account – among other online platforms such as social media.
Now, using your favourite sports team as a password might not be as obvious as “123456”, but it’s close enough. Not only could someone guess your password based on what team you support, but sports passwords are often the most leaked online. This could expose your web security if a cyber criminal tries to infiltrate your accounts.
These days, more companies are catching on to the fact that their accounts and services don’t need to be exposed to password theft, mismanagement and digital assaults. Restructuring your account verification processes can help mitigate security risks and break the cycle of frustration.
Cut out the risk of security violations with passwordless authentication, which uses biometric verification to log into and access your accounts. Passwordless authentication removes the risk of password leaks, using omnichannel Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and secure encryption to keep your data safe.
Discover how our cloud security and web security could help lock down your customers’ cyber security with GlobalDots. For more expert insights, discover how to implement passwordless authentication in your organisation with our complete guide.
This dataset ranks 186 sports teams, based on how vulnerable the passwords are which include the team names. To do this, 23 different password variations were used (11 for UK). Once the data for the password variations was collected, the different variations for each team were summed, to provide each team a total number of password leaks. The teams were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on the number of leaks. How many times the password had appeared in a data breach was taken from: https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords
The password variations used are as follows (example using Buffalo Bills):
To ensure American teams get a representative value, we also used prompts using only the team’s nickname i.e. Bills instead of Buffalo Bills, these additional prompts are as follows (Not applicable for UK & MLS teams):
All data is correct as of 11/03/25. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided.
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