Brute Force Attacks

A Brute Force attack is a trial and error method used to obtain private information such as passwords, Personal Identification Number(PIN), Data Encryption Standard( DES) keys, etc. by trying a large number of possible combinations of usernames and passwords. Until the account is broken into. Brute Force Attacks are commonly used by crackers to obtain access to a website and account, then steal data, shut the site down, or execute another type of attack. It can be used by a Hacker or Security Analyst to test network security in an organization, although their more common use is for malicious attacks.

How does Brute Force Attack work?

Brute force attacks will commonly use automated tools to guess various combinations of usernames and passwords until they find the correct input. The longer the password, the more time it will typically take to find the correct input.

Types of Brute Force Attacks:

1. Credential recycling is a form of brute force attacks where usernames and passwords from previous attacks are used.
2. Reverse brute force attacks begin with the attacking having the password as a known value, but not the username. The hacker will then follow the same pattern as a normal brute force attack to find the correct username.
3. Dictionary attack is another type of brute force attack where all words in a dictionary are tested to find a password

Prevent Brute Force Attack

Common ways to prevent brute force cracking include:

1. Strong Passwords:

Try to include special characters(@$#), numbers(3748), mixed case alphabets(aDuF) and limit the password length by 8 - 16. You can also prevent it by not using the username, name or ID in the password. Read More

2. Login Attempts:

Limiting the number of times a user can unsuccessfully trying to log in.Read More

3. Captcha:

This prevents bots from executing the automated scripts that appear in brute force attacks, while still being easy for a human to pass by.Read More

4. Multifactor Authentication:

This adds a secondary layer to the primary form of authentication. For example, in Two Factor Authentication you need to add a 4 or 6 digit passcode with the username and password and then the only device is marked as trusted.Read More