Learn About Password Attack Methods and Preventions

We will continue with our security perspective, and this time we will bring you a fresh blog post on password attack methods and preventions. In our last blog, we have explained how to prevent identity theft and online vehicle sale fraud.

Let’s learn about password attack

Passwords are nothing new; they are a secure collection of letters, digits, and symbols in upper or lower case that allow you to access your unique digital area. They are the least secure, most susceptible, and most valuable collection of letters, numbers, and symbols.

Many people’s credentials have been exposed recently, and a large amount of data has been taken. While a password isn’t really easy to guess, for many hackers, this is a piece of cake. What methods do hackers use to guess and obtain your password? We’ve are going to explain this below.

What are the password attack methods and preventions?

While the ultimate aim of any password assault is to break a user’s password in order to obtain access, this goal can be accomplished in a variety of ways. The most often used are as follows:

Dictionary Attacks method

A dictionary assault begins with attackers randomly attempting every word in popular language dictionaries such as English, French, or Spanish in order to gain access to a system, relying on people’s usual practice of using a single, actual word as their password. However, as time has passed, attackers have progressed from relying exclusively on dictionaries to additionally utilizing publicly available password lists. Popular passwords such as password, 1234567, password1, 111111, and qwerty continue to be popular.

Brute-Force Attacks method

Unlike dictionary attacks, which focus exclusively on plaintext passwords, brute-force assaults go even more arbitrarily, running through every possible combination of letters and digits. These attacks take advantage of the fact that the majority of users keep their passwords short. The shorter the password, the more quickly these assaults may be carry out.

Hybrid Attacks method

Another method of guessing passwords, these assaults combine the strength of dictionary and brute-force attacks, resulting in a greater number of potential combinations.

Password Spraying method

Also known as credential stuffing, password spraying makes use of credentials obtained through social engineering assaults such as phishing or the successful outcomes of a dictionary, brute-force, or hybrid attack. An attacker takes a password that is known to work for at least one system or application and tests it throughout an organization’s environment to see whether it will work elsewhere, allowing more access. Due of the frequency with which passwords are repeat, credential stuffing is typically rather successful.

How to protect against password attack?

• Utilize a Password Generator with Random Characters that generates and saves encrypted passwords
• Passwords should be scheduled and changed often.
• Create difficult-to-guess passwords using a variety of cased letters, digits, symbols, or unique phrases.
• Avoid using common terms such as “admin” or “password.”
• Avoid using the site’s name as your password.
• Wherever practical, use single sign-on or multi-factor authentication.
• Wherever practical, use biometric authentication, such as fingerprint authentication, which makes impersonation considerably more difficult.

Learn in Detail – Strategies to reduce password attacks

Use Multi-Factor Authentication

MFA adds another layer of defense against attackers by needing more than one piece of proof to log in. Evidence is classified into three types: knowledge, possession, and inherence. This can be something the user knows, such as a password, something the user possesses, such as a phone or security token, or something the user can offer alone, such as a fingerprint. While higher-security goods may include fingerprint pads or eye scans, the majority of electronics have a two-factor authentication procedure that relies on knowledge and possession. The more criteria there are, the harder it will be for an attacker to get admission.

Maintaining and Enforcing Strong Passwords

While MFA increases the number of barriers, each barrier must be as robust as feasible. For instance, several forms of multi-factor authentication logins require the second form of authentication only after the first has authenticate. This implies that while an attacker may be unable to obtain access, they will know they used the correct credentials. They can then launch a password spray assault against the remainder of the network, where they may come across apps that do not support MFA. As a result, it is critical to create passwords that are as complicated as feasible.

Keep an eye on Activity

Attackers rely on their ability to remain undiscovered. Due to the high volume of activity in an information technology environment, a password assault can simply slip through the gaps. When a SIEM detects an abnormally high number of login attempts, it instantly escalates the issue to the security team, enabling them to swiftly avoid or neutralize hazards. This enables your security teams and analysts to evaluate in real time if they need to conduct additional investigations. Additionally, many SIEM solutions is configure to operate automatically. Locking out a user after a predetermined number of failed login attempts.

Hope after reading the article, you are now aware about everything of password attack methods and preventions.