Sunday Reads - The Best of Politics, Economics, & Ideas

DESPITE entreaties not to, many people choose rather predictable passwords to protect themselves online. "12345"; "password"; and the like are easy to remember but also easy for attackers to guess, especially with programs that automate the process using lists ("dictionaries") of common choices. Cambridge University computer scientist Joseph Bonneau has recently published an analysis of the passwords chosen by almost 70m (anonymised) Yahoo! users. One interesting result is shown below. The chart shows what percentage of accounts could be cracked after 1,000 attempts using such a dictionary. Source for graphic and text: The Economist

Sunday reads for you!

• Has skin whitening in India gone too far? (BBC)

• India and America: Less than allies, more than friends. (The Economist)

• The evolution of religion. (American Interest)

• Limbo Land: 
  A journey into Azawad, the world's newest failed state. (Foreign Policy)

Sunday Slideshow Special: Pranab Mukherjee's road to Raisina Hill. (ET)

 
Tomorrow, I will publish an data graphic on the World's Best MBA Colleges, prepared by me, with data like average GMAT score, post-MBA salary, annual intake, and other details. Make sure to visit this blog for the graphic!