‍What are Brute Force Attacks?

A Brute Force Attack is an attempt to crack passwords, encryption keys, or find some hidden web pages, attackers work exhaustively through a procedure of trying every possible combination until they find the right combination of letters and numbers to unlock. It is comparable to trying every key in the keychain to find the correct one to unlock the door.

It is an old technique, yet it is still in use because depending on the complexity of the passwords, it can take anything from a few seconds to many years to crack it.

What do hackers gain from all this effort, though? They are after several objectives:

1. Stealing personal data and valuables: Once a system has been penetrated, the hackers can steal sensitive information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or any other valuable information for financial gain.
2. Spreading malware to cause disruptions: In cases of brute force attacks, hackers may use them to inject malware into the system and cause disruptions like system crashes, slowdowns, or data loss.
3. Ruining a website's reputation: By defacing or damaging a website, the hackers can tarnish its reputation, causing it to lose the trust of its users or customers.

In short, brute force attacks are a continuous threat, sometimes used by hackers to gain unauthorized access to systems, steal some valuable data, or disrupt online operations. Strong security measures and strong unique passwords are very much required to wield the activities of the hackers.

Brute Force Attack Types

There are many types of brute force attacks and various techniques are used by attackers to try and guess sensitive information. Here are some of the most common:

• Simple Brute Force Attacks: Hackers, without the use of software, guess credentials by hand. These attacks usually make sense of simplistic passwords, such as "Password123".
• Dictionary Attacks: A list of common passwords or phrases is used by attackers to systematically test a set of usernames. These attacks can take a long time, but they are proven to be effective for breaking passwords.
• Reverse Brute Force Attacks: The hacker starts with a known password and finds matching usernames, taking advantage of lists of stolen passwords from past breaches.
• Credential Stuffing: This is the process of reusing previously known pairs of usernames and passwords across other sites, usually when users reuse their login credentials—a technique that has worked in the past because of so many users who reuse their login information.

Brute Force Attack Tools

Guessing passwords takes time, therefore hackers use tools to speed up the process.

Automated tools

Trying to guess passwords manually can be a lengthy and tedious activity. Therefore, hackers rely on automated tools to speed up the process of guessing passwords. These rapid-fire tools can help in creating and attempting possible passwords in an attempt to get in. It can go through a huge amount of attempts and find single dictionary words within seconds. 

By making use of the CPU and the graphics processing in order to get more computing power the system will be capable of performing multiple tasks efficiently. The merits of using this method is that the hackers will be able to crack passwords approximately 250 times faster than the one that uses CPU only.

For example, the six-character password containing numbers has 2 billion possible combinations. A potent CPU that checks 30 passwords per second will take more than two years to crack the same. The inclusion of a robust GPU card will let the same computer check 7,100 passwords per second, thereby reducing the cracking time to 3.5 days.

Tips to  prevent Brute Force Attacks 

Protecting yourself and your network requires activities and efforts. For both IT professionals and common users, following some basic principles are very important:

Use Strong Credentials

Make sure to use strong combinations of usernames and passwords that exceed the plain generic ones like 'admin' or 'password123’', your birthday, or sequential characters.

Delete Inactive High-Permission Accounts

Remove dead accounts that have high privileges, as these are easy entry points for attackers. Dead accounts represent one of the most critical vulnerabilities that need to be addressed immediately.

In fact, let us go through how to make  your passwords stronger:

Password Best Practices

Train end-users on best practices of password management and provide them with tools that can securely store their passwords. Through empowering users to use convenient but secure password management tools, the overall security level increases.

• Encryption: User and system administrators must ensure that all passwords are encrypted in the highest level possible. Thus, using strong encryption algorithms like 256-bit encryption.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Make sure that a  two-step authentication procedure is implemented, and have intrusion detection systems to prevent brute force attacks. Two-factor authentication requires a user to confirm their identity through a secondary factor like their phone, biometric scan or USB key, thus further enhancing authentication security.
• Limit Login Attempts: Limit the number of login attempts to prevent susceptibility to brute force attacks. Implementing a limit, like three attempts before a temporary account lockout, will make the account less vulnerable to brute force attacks. If a used is locked out after the three attempts, it frustrates the attackers and make them move on to other weaker targets
• Mandatory CAPTCHA: Manual CAPTCHA  verification stops robots from carrying the brute attack. This can be used as an extra security check and it comes in different forms like Word Problem Captcha, Confident Captcha, etc.
• Length and Mixed Characters: Make your password at least 10 characters long, including symbols or numerals. Make sure to use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters (such as !, @, #, $, %, etc.). Avoid easily guessable patterns like "123456" or "password".

• Do Not Use Common Passwords: Avoid using some commonly used passwords and change them regularly to avoid being compromised. 

• Change Passwords Regularly: While it's debated how often passwords should be changed, regularly updating passwords can mitigate the risk associated with compromised credentials.

• Avoid Personal Information: Do not use easily obtainable personal information such as your name, birthday, or family members' names in your passwords.

• Avoid Reusing Passwords: Avoid reusing passwords to avoid credential stuffing attacks. Using different passwords for every website helps improve security and limits any damage that could occur in case one of the passwords is compromised on another site.

• Use Password Manager: A password manager would make it easy to create and store online credentials. The password manager enables you to log in to most accounts with just one master password. The password manager would allow you to create complicated passwords for each site, and the manager would store the credentials securely for you.

Password Security with an Active IT Support

Monitoring Account in Real-Time

Keep an eye on your accounts activity continuously to detect anomalous activity, such as unusual login activity from an unusual location or multiple login attempts. An immediate response must be taken as an action to mitigate the threat. These actions may include IP blocking, account lockdown, and talking to the user to validate whether activity is legitimate.

All in all

Brute force attacks involve relentless attempts to crack passwords, posing serious threats to individuals and businesses. Understanding risks and implementing preventive measures like CAPTCHAs, MFA, and password hygiene is crucial for security. By following these practices, businesses can operate confidently and securely, free from the dangers of brute force attacks.

Brute force attacks will always be a serious and ongoing threat as humans are the weakest link in cybersecurity. It is therefore important for both individuals and businesses to always remain vigilant, aware of all kinds of attack tactics, and have strong security measures to protect yourself and your company. Awareness is the first step in preventing your company from falling in the trap of these attacks and staying informed and adopting proactive security practices, they can better protect themselves and their data from the dangers of brute force attacks.

Find out if your data is leaked on the internet, using Defendis a powerful identity intelligence platform book a demo to know more about our solution.