What Is a Brute Force Attack?

 

Introduction

The brute-force attack can be described as a trial and error technique employed by hackers to hack passwords for login as well as encryption keys and even hidden URLs.

Based on their name, brute force attack employ brute force tactics that consist of incessant login attempts in order to gain login access to accounts that are private and sensitive files, as well as organizations networks, as well as other protected online resources. This is accomplished by using bots that continually try various combinations of passwords and usernames to gain access to accounts.

Despite being in use for many years and being fairly straightforward attack methods, brute force is extremely popular and are often utilized by hackers because of their efficiency. In fact, more than 90% of breaches of today are caused by brute force attacks or the use of stolen or lost passwords. ¹ This is not a surprise since there are more than 15 billion compromised passwords being used in dark internet forums which hackers can easily gain access to. ²

Why Should You Care?

If attackers who use brute force gain access to an account, they are able to:

·         Track and analyze user activities.

·         Indicate users to identity theft by taking sensitive personal data like bank accounts, tax information and medical records.

·         Infect a website by introducing malware downloaded onto the devices of visitors (e.g. hijacking devices to become part of an online botnet).

·         Create spam advertisements on websites that pay the advertiser per click, or infect users with spyware, allowing them to gather personal information to sell without their consent.

·         Create reputational damage through vandalizing websites with negative content.

Five Types of Brute Force Attacks

There are many different kinds of brute force attack, each of which could be used to gain unauthorised access to internet resources.

Basic Brute Force Attacks Attackers attempt to figure out a user's password completely on their own without the use of any software to accomplish this. They work against those who use passwords that are weak and easily guessed, such as "password", "1234567890" as well as "qwerty".

Dictionary attacks They are the simplest form of attack by brute force. An attacker tries the passwords of as many people against a username they want to target as they can. This type of brute force attacks is often referred by the term "dictionary attacks" because attackers go through dictionaries as they test passwords. They often modify words to include numbers or special characters.

Hybrid Bruteforce Attacks This attack method typically employs a combination of basic brute force attacks and dictionary attacks. Attackers make use of logically guessed words and phrases that are paired with various combinations of characters and letters to hack into accounts. The most common passwords utilized in this kind of attack include common combinations such as "Houston123!" or "Bailey2022".

Reverse Brute force Attacks - When using the reverse attack of brute force the attacker is already aware of an already-known password. They then reverse the process by comparing million of user names against the password in order to identify a compatible combination of login credentials. In many instances, hackers are using passwords that came from a breach , and are readily accessible online.

Stuffing Credentials Also called "credential recycling" Credential stuffing is a separate type of brute force attacks where attackers test the password and username combinations which were stolen or leaked from the dark web or other websites. This technique is effective against people who have repeatedly used login credentials for several online accounts.

The Password Conundrum

Passwords have inherent issues with usability. While simple and quick passwords are simple to remember, they can also be vulnerable and are easy for attackers using brute force to break. However, although creating lengthy and intricate passwords and regularly changing them can dramatically improve security, they can also be difficult to remember, and they often increase the risk of users returning to using the same passwords on several websites, keeping them in unsecure locations and not updating frequently.

The average user uses 191 sites with passwords and other login credentials ^3. most people have more passwords to track than they ever did. In addition, 70% of users have the same passwords and usernames across websites. ⁴ This makes it a prime target for criminals. And if credentials are compromised due to brute force or phishing attacks on a website attackers could also attempt the same password and username combinations on different sites.

In addition, the length of time to use a brute force attack to break the password is an indicator of the complexity of the password as well as the hacker's computational power as well as the range of time that it takes between a couple of seconds to several years. The most common brute force attack computer software can scan more than a billion passwords every minute. ⁵ In this way, even though the brute force attack could require many years to crack an intricate password you've created but you are still at risk based on how constant the attack.

Proactively Combating Brute Force Attacks

If the past is any indication that brute force attacks will be on the rise and are expected to multiply. Fortunately the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) and passwordless authentication are both highly effective methods to limit their risks.

Following are three "good", "better" or "best" security methods that individuals and businesses can employ to decrease the risk of falling victim to an attack with brute force.

Good - Strengthening Password Security

Utilizing strong passwords that are virtually unimaginable to crack is the simplest (albeit the weakest) method of defending against attacks by brute force. The best practices for making new passwords are:

·         Use long passwords that are at minimum 15 characters in length.

·         Create complex passwords with random strings of characters , rather than words that are more common.

·         This includes combinations of symbols, numbers, and both lowercase and uppercase characters in passwords.

·         Never use the same password across different websites.

·         Utilizing password managers that generate automatically secure passwords so that the users do not need to keep track of.

The organization should secure passwords on the back end with the following security procedures:

·         By using the highest encryption rate achievable, including encryption with 256 bits for passwords prior to storing them.

·         Salting passwords prior to hashing them. Salting is the process of adding random characters to passwords prior to when the passwords are hashed.

·         Limiting login attempts to ensure that brute force attackers are prevented from trying repeatedly to login after attempting only a handful of unsuccessful password and username combinations.

·         The use of CAPTCHA will stop programs that use brute force which are not able to verify the box or determine which images from a set have the object. It also prevents users by manually confirming their authenticity.

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