New analysis shows that stronger hardware – including systems powering AI – is slashing the time needed to crack passwords, putting millions at greater risk.
Hive Systems, a leading cybersecurity firm known for turning complex cyber threats into real-world insights, today released its much-anticipated 2025 Password Table with the research revealing an alarming trend: passwords are being cracked faster than ever before.
Compared to 2024, the time it takes to crack passwords using consumer-grade GPUs has dropped by nearly 20% – a dramatic acceleration in just one year. An eight character password made up of only lowercase letters can now be cracked in just 3 weeks.
Meanwhile, with AI-grade hardware—the same kind used to power large language models like ChatGPT—password cracking speeds have surged by over 1.8 billion percent compared to consumer-grade machines. This acceleration has collapsed cracking timelines from billions of years to just a few hours.
“We are witnessing an astronomical acceleration in computing power,” said Alex Nette, CEO of Hive Systems. “Even outside of quantum computing, today’s AI-grade hardware is already reshaping cybersecurity risks. Passwords that were safe last year could now be cracked in a fraction of the time and quantum computing will only push this even further.”
A Password’s Shelf Life Is Shrinking
Hive Systems’ 2025 Password Table provides an updated look at how quickly different types of passwords – based on length and complexity – can be brute-forced by an attacker with modern hardware.
This year’s findings reflect the combined impact of faster GPUs, distributed cloud computing, and AI-specialized hardware – offering a stark reminder that password hygiene must evolve alongside technology.
Shorter, simpler passwords that might have survived for years in the past are now vulnerable in months, weeks, or even days — and that window will only continue to shrink as computing capabilities grow.
Download the Table That’s Educated Millions
The Hive Systems Password Table has been shared by news media, cybersecurity professionals, educators, IT teams, and digital safety advocates around the world. Since its first release, the table has helped millions of people better understand the evolving risks of weak passwords – and why adapting security practices to new technology is critical.
The 2025 version is now available, updated with the latest data and more urgent than ever.