Analysis of bank PIN numbers

If you're wondering why 1004, a seemingly random number, is so close to the top of the list -- something that the author does not investigate in any detail -- my guess is that the database he used contains some major leaks from Korea. 1004 is a fairly popular password there, because it is one of the few 4-digit numbers that sound like actual words in Korean. 1004 sounds like "angel" (cheonsa). So if you're actually trying to break into…

On a slightly different note rated to the XkCD comic, Irish police in 2005 started a manhunt for a serial and prolific traffic offender - they knew he was Polish, his name was "Prawo Jazdy" and he had committed over two hundred speeding offences across the country. Eventually they got a Polish officer through Interpol to help. On his first day on the case he asked - why are you looking for a guy called "Drivers License"? Cops had simply…

Previous discussion: Most to least common 4-digit PIN numbers from an analysis of 3.4M - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40306374 - (56 points, 18 comments, 5 days ago)

> … it’s staggering how popular this password appears to be. Utterly staggering at the lack of imagination … It's also staggering how often a system requires a passcode but the operator's of the system don't want to use one, or the system needs to be provided with a known passcode so the client can log into it for the first time. Often, also, passcodes serve as courtesy locks, where the intention isn't to make it impossible to gain access…