What are the most common brute force attacks on authentication? (2024)

An average user maintains 10+ online accounts therefore it is likely if the user isn’t using password manager then they might be sharing same passwords across their multiple accounts. The best way is to use password manager to generate random passwords across multiple sites and use Multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever is possible. The MFA is known to protect against 99% of identity compromise attacks.

Brute force attacks on authentication involve systematically trying numerous possible combinations of credentials until the correct one is found. The most common types of brute force attacks are :- Simple Brute Force Attack:- Dictionary Attack- Credential Stuffing- Rainbow Table Attack- Hybrid Brute Force Attack- Reverse Brute Force Attack- Username Enumeration:

Dictionary attacks while simple, are fairly effective. They are enhanced though by the ability for bad actors to socially engineer their targets to gather data about them. Using password managers and secure passwords are best practices, but also limit what personal information you include online in your social media posts. The more information that one can obtain publicly, the easier it will be to tailor these types of attacks.

Common brute force attacks on authentication involve systematically attempting all possible password combinations until the correct one is found. "Simple brute force" exhaustively tries all combinations, while "dictionary attacks" use precompiled lists. "Credential stuffing" leverages stolen credentials across multiple sites. "Hybrid attacks" combine brute force and dictionary methods. Defenses include account lockouts, CAPTCHAs, and multi-factor authentication to thwart repeated login attempts, enhancing overall security. Regularly updating passwords and using strong, unique ones further safeguards against these pervasive threats.

We've all heard stories about people using really obvious passwords like "password". Even though websites ask for stronger passwords, many still go for simple English words, like "Monday54321". I've seen this a lot among my friends and family.Dictionary attacks target these kinds of easy-to-guess passwords. To keep yourself safe:1. Use different passwords for each of your accounts. Don't use the same one everywhere.2. Try using a good password manager, like Bitwarden or LastPass. They can help generate strong passwords for you.3. The best way to stay safe is to use something called Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). It's like having an extra layer of protection (like an OTP or hardware token) along with your password.

Credential stuffing is a cyberattack where automated tools or botnets are employed to insert stolen or purchased login credentials into user accounts, potentially within the same organization or across various platforms. This attack is facilitated by the common practice of users reusing login details for multiple accounts. The ease of executing credential stuffing attacks arises from the abundance of available compromised credentials, obtainable through purchase or found in plaintext on the dark web. This method has a high success rate due to the widespread reuse of login information.

A simple way to prevent credential stuffing is not using the same login information across multiple sites. Since the attacker is using already compromised, available login information, reusing across multiple sites exposes you to multiple breaches. By using unique, per-site login information, if your login is compromised to one site, the others will not be vulnerable. It might be more of a hassle to have a multitude of logins, but not as big a hassle as having multiple sites breached from under you.

Since people are being people, credential stuffing is going to stay with us for the foreseeable future. Until such a time that passwords become obsolete and other means of authentication are being used that do not require people to jump through flaming hoops. People are lazy. Maybe some know deep down and on a rational level that credential reuse might not be the best idea but comfort and complacency usually get the better of them. The remedy for this is old as dirt and most of us are tired of hearing it. But it is - sadly - still relevant. Remember, networks are still getting pwned left right and center because of guest/guest or admin/123456.

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Credential surfing, or credential stuffing, is when hackers use stolen usernames and passwords from one breach to try and gain unauthorized access to other websites or services. They exploit the fact that many people re-use the same words across multiple websites.You can prevent credential surfing using below precautions.1. Do not re-use same password acorss multiple websites. Use unique passwords.2. Use a password manager like Bitwarden, Lastpass etc. to generate strong and unique passwords.3. Update your passwords regularly especially when there is news of data breach.4. And last but not the least, use 2FA to add additional security layer using OTP, hardware token etc.

Using a shared pattern among different accounts is also a bad practice, as attackers can combine leaked credentials data and dictionary attacks to brute force different permutations of the shared string. It is recommended to generate a strong password randomly.

Key cracking is a very tedious task as it requires computational power and a lot of time. Some algorithms have already fallen. Current algorithms like AES have not been cracked up to this day. Quantum computing's computational potential might be a challenge to such algorithms in the future.

Cryptographic keys are important as they are used to encrypt and decrypt your data. Key cracking can be mitigated by using longer key lengths, key rotation, and using the latest cryptographic algorithms. Moreover, within your network, data at rest and data in transit should be encrypted so if an attacker successfully gets into your system, all private data will be unreadable.

This is maybe for more targeted attacks where time is no factor. It remains a computationally expensive attack and does not scale terribly well. As an attacker, if I was to choose an initial attack method, I would shoot for something easier first. If I wanted to establish a long term presence on a network, I might do this.

Key cracking is a type of bruteforce attack on cryptographic keys i.e. attacker tries all possible permutation and combination of keys to find the correct one.For example, to crack a DES key, which is of 64 bit length, the attacker will need to try 2^64 (18446744073709552000) different keys. This seems to be a large number, but modern computer have very high computational power and a computer strong enough can break DES key in about 23 hours.To safeguard yourself, use stronger algorithms which support larger key sizes, like AES-256 which support keys of length 256 bits and which gives 2^256 different combinations, which is a very large number that would take millions of years to break using current computing technology.

Reverse brute force can bypass time delays. Depending on how the system is set up, some systems have a delay after failed login attempts, to slow down the attack. In the reverse brute force attack, the attacker switches to a different username after each attempt, bypassing the time delays. To thwart, use multi factor authentication, and remove the username of root/admin, instead use only break glass local admin with the admin(admins initials or name), or use a privilege access management system to checkout passwords to the system, which provides the authentication, authorization, accounting.

A brute force attack example of this nature would include passwords such as NewYork1993 or Spike1234. Reverse brute force attacks: just as the name implies, a reverse brute force attack reverses the attack strategy by starting with a known password. Then hackers search millions of usernames until they find a match.

The reverse brute force attack is like a tricky game, guessing common passwords for different usernames. It's a reminder to avoid generic passwords. Its ability to bypass some security measures adds an extra layer of concern, emphasizing the need for strong cybersecurity defenses.

There are several ways to help safeguard against brute force attacks (multi-factor authentication is great, but there is also:1. Use of strong password policies2. Implementing account lockout policies after a certain number of attempts.3. Rate limits: restrict the number of login attempts from specific IP addresses.4.IP Whitelisting /Blacklisting:Keep an updated list of trusted and u trusted IP addresses. Trusted IP addresses get whitewashed, while IP addresses linked to suspicious activity get blacklisted.5. Keep patches and updates current 6.Security Training:-Train your security team on best practices, including recognizing and responding to phasing attacks as well as social engineering attempts to get valid login credentials.

Reverse Bruteforce is when hackers use a single password to target multiple usernames.Attacker uses common passwords like "password", "Monday54321" etc.They exploit the fact that many users doesn't have password awareness and tend to use simple common passwords with simple english words. This attack bypass account lockout safeguard, as you are trying a single password against each account.Safeguard includes, using strong unique passwords, use 2FA etc.

Using a shared pattern among different accounts is also a bad practice, as attackers can combine leaked credentials data and dictionary attacks to brute force different permutations of the shared string. It is recommended to generate a strong password randomly.

Hybrid brute force attacks cleverly mix dictionary and brute force tactics, tweaking common passwords with extra characters for efficiency. These attacks are like picking locks with a master key – they focus on likely combinations rather than trying every possibility. Defending against them needs strong passwords, regular updates, and user education. It's not just about stronger locks, but also about smarter key management.

Hybrid attacks, as the name suggests is mixing multiple attacks. Attackers can use a pre-defined dictionary but also adding some modification of their own like adding number. Or they can also use list of passwords from breach with same logic.To safeguard yourself, use strong passwords, unique passwords, update your passwords regularly, use 2FA.

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Brute force attacks can be prevented by using strong passphrases, captcha, multifactor authentication (MFA), password salting and lockout policies. Moreover, Firewall and IDS/IPS systems can be configured to block unsuccessful login attempts. Furthermore, network monitoring is important. Also, webserver logs should feed into a log collector or SIEM so it can detect and send out brute force alerts.

Brute force attacks can be prevented with many combinations of methods. However, I want to focus my attention on passwords. You can maximize your password complexity by using numbers, uppercase, lowercase, and symbols in your passwords. An example is a password with 12 characters with only lowercase letters can be cracked by brute force in a few weeks. However, if you use a password with 12 characters with a mixture of lowercase and uppercase letters it extends to hundreds of years. That is right, it’s not a typo, it changed from weeks to hundreds of years by slightly increasing in our password complexity. If we add an extra character to our new password (13 characters total) it increases to an estimated 10,000+ years before it's cracked.

Multi-Factor Authentication does add an extra layer of security - by requiring two or more verification methods. But requiring MFA for every single interaction could be very inconvenient for users.So, after you've authenticated using MFA, the server might store a session cookie that doesn't require MFA for subsequent requests. This is called a session cookie. If an attacker gets this cookie, they might be able to access the service without MFA.

Rainbow table attack is another type of brute forcing. Rainbow tables are precomputed tables storing hash values of passwords along with their corresponding plaintext. Hackers use these tables to quickly determine the password associated with a given hash value. To protect, in addition of using strong and complex passwords (decreasing the chances for a Rainbow table to contain the password) you should use a technique known as salted password hashing. Salting involves adding a random string of characters to each user's password before hashing. By using a different salt for each user, even if two users have the same password, the hashed passwords will be different. This makes it impossible to use existing Rainbow tables efficiently.

Password spraying is a type of brute force attack where an attacker tries a single password on multiple accounts, aiming to avoid account lockouts. This is often exploited when default passwords are in use. To mitigate such attacks, implement brute force prevention for both usernames and passwords, set account lockout policies, enforce password changes for users with default passwords on their first login, and use multi-factor authentication, especially for external services.

Password spray is another form of attack where threat actor tries to use one leaked password across multiple accounts in attempt to gain access. It goes without saying that monitoring and detection is a must however such attacks can thwarted by using strong password or passphrase and MFA on the account.

AI-Powered Brute Force Attacks is a new cybersecurity threat. These attacks go beyond traditional trial-and-error methods. AI algorithms are trained to predict and generate likely password combinations based on patterns, common structures, and even user behavior data. This makes them faster and more efficient than conventional brute force attacks. As AI can learn and adapt, these attacks continuously evolve, posing a significant challenge to standard password defense mechanisms.