So you think your password is strong, even long at 16 characters. Well think again!

During an experiment for Ars Technica hackers managed to crack 90% of 16,449 hashed passwords.Six passwords were cracked each minute including 16-character versions such as ‘qeadzcwrsfxv1331’.

The success rate of the hackers varied from 62 – 90%.

This level of success doesn’t bode well for cloud security either. In fact, it appears that your identity could be stolen with relative ease, and somebody with a malicious streak could wipe your existence.

How safe do you think your passwords are? If you have a password make sure you use at least 8 characters, a mix of lower and upper case, numbers and symbols. Don’t use any memorable data, pets names or anything similar.