AI Can Hack Your PIN in just 0.44 seconds, Here’s How to Stay Safe

The post AI Can Hack Your PIN in just 0.44 seconds, Here’s How to Stay Safe appeared first on Android Headlines.

May 16, 2025 - 19:36

Businessman With Smartphone In Hand, Using Ai Technology Online Artificial Intelligence Brain Holog

AI has truly been very helpful since it burst on the scene in the form of chatbots a little over two years ago. And since then, AI has been evolving at an incredible pace. But that’s not always good news. While some are worried about AI taking our jobs and even replacing the human race, you should be more worried about it hacking your bank account.

A new report out of Messente shows that AI can crack your PIN in as little as 0.44 seconds. Even if you have a truly random PIN, it can still be hacked in just over a second by AI. That’s truly scary. Since so much of our personal information is hidden behind these PINs. Whether that’s your Debit Card, a PIN for your cell phone bill, or something else.

Above, you can see PINs with the same number repeating are obviously the easiest to crack. But even those that are consecutive, based on a year, or a group, can still be hacked in under a second. While a truly random PIN is a bit longer.

Here’s the top 10 easiest PINs to crack for AI.

None of these should surprise you, they are all the same number repeated. Though interesting to see that some numbers take longer to crack than others.

This should be a major wake up call

Whether you’re a business or an individual, this should be a major wake up call. These PINs that are supposed to keep your accounts from getting hacked, can be easily hacked by AI. And at the rate that it is evolving, it might not even take a tenth of a second in a couple of months, to hack any PIN.

Uku Tomikas, the CEO of Messente said that “for businesses using SMS or PIN-based verification flows, weak PIN codes can leave customer accounts vulnerable, even when two-factor authentication is enabled.” While two-factor authentication does help, it still might not keep a hacker away, if they’re using AI.

Tomikas recommends that businesses implement multi-layered authentication. These include methods like one-time passwords (OTPs), time-based tokens, and PIN fallback mechanisms. This would help reduce the use of predictable codes that can be hacked, as there would be a time limit on them, typically 5 to 10 minutes.

What should you do?

The first thing you should do is, change your PIN number a couple times a year. It’s a pain, but it’s better than having your Debit Card PIN end up in the wrong hands. Some banks also allow or force you, to use a longer PIN than just four digits. So we’d recommend using a 6-digit or longer PIN. The more numbers, the harder it is for AI to crack. However, it won’t stop AI from doing it.

You should also set up OTPs for any accounts. Google Authenticator actually uses OTPs, which is needed in addition to your password to get into your account. What makes OTPs even stronger is that its a random time-based code, and it’s not limited to just numbers. It’s an alphanumeric code.

The post AI Can Hack Your PIN in just 0.44 seconds, Here’s How to Stay Safe appeared first on Android Headlines.