We all have received emails from websites or applications informing us that our account has been compromised. The message informs you that you can access your account and change the password if you are not making the login attempt. We are often the ones trying to log in, so we can ignore the notification.
Sometimes, however this is not the case and it wasn’t you who attempted to log in to your account. If this happens, it is possible that your account and possibly your sensitive information has been compromised by hackers using brute force attacks.
Cybercriminals aren’t new to brute force attacks. Cybersecurity experts work tirelessly to prevent brute force attacks and any potential data exposure. Due to the rise in remote work, brute force attacks have increased from 13% – 31% in 2020. They account for 5% of all cyber security breaches.
If you are one the millions of professionals who work remotely, it may be time to refresh your knowledge about brute force attacks and what steps you can take in order to protect yourself and your professional online reputation.
What is a Brute Force Attack?
A brute force attack sounds exactly like it is. A hacker attempts to guess the login credentials of a website or app account and then attempts to access it again. A brute force attack is one of the most popular cyberattacks. This is due to its simplicity and high effectiveness.
Data breaches and leaks have become an accepted part of our internet-connected world. These incidents seem to occur so often that they are a regular feature of the 24-hour news cycle. We accept that the next major cyberattack will soon be a matter if we can just wait. These data breaches can lead to a huge amount of personal information about millions of people, as well as their account credentials. If a brute force attack is successful, it can lead to data breaches that affect countless people.
The data taken from a cyberattack isn’t usually used in brute force attacks. Instead, hackers can now access the account and website by successfully breaking into it. This allows them to upload malware or other malicious software. They can now use this exploit for a larger cyberattack.
What are the types of Brute Force Attacks
The most well-known brute forcible attack is when hackers attempt to hack into an account by guessing login credentials. There are many other types of brute-force attacks, depending on the hacker’s methods and desired outcomes.
Simple Brute Force Attack. This attack is, as mentioned above, when a cybercriminal repeatedly attempts to guess your login credentials (typically password) without any additional context. Pins and passwords that are easily guessed can be cracked with relative speed.
Dictionary Brute Force Attack. This brute force attack uses commonly used password combinations as well as words from the dictionary that have numbers or special characters substituting for letters. Poor passwords can be easily cracked, just like a brute force attack.
Hybrid Brute Force Attack. The hybrid attack combines both of the previous types. It uses passwords that people often use, such as family names and anniversaries or dates of birth.
Reverse Brute Force Attack. This is a brute force attack in which a hacker gains access to a password to attempt to match it to a username to log in to an account.
Credential Stuffing. Credential Stuffing. Although not always classified as a brute force attack but it can happen when cybercriminals have login credentials and try to use them across multiple web sites.
