What is a Brute-Force Attack?

A brute-force attack is a cyberattack in which an attacker tries to guess a password or encryption key by systematically attempting every possible combination until the correct one is found. Despite being a time-consuming and straightforward method, brute-force attacks remain popular among cybercriminals due to their effectiveness. These attacks pose a significant threat to the security of individuals, organizations, and governments worldwide, and account for the majority of attacks on cloud service providers. Protecting against brute-force attacks involves utilizing different tools and techniques to detect and prevent these attacks.

What Is a Brute-Force Attack?

A brute-force attack is a cyberattack that uses automated software to try every possible combination of characters to guess a password or encryption key. Attackers use this method to access secure systems, and it can be very effective in guessing weak or simple passwords. The longer and more complex a password or key, the more time and resources required to break it through brute force. There are different types of brute-force attacks, including simple attacks that guess login credentials manually, dictionary attacks that use wordlists, and hybrid attacks that combine both methods. Brute-force attacks can be very time-consuming and resource-intensive, but remain popular due to the valuable sensitive data they often yield. They are also becoming increasingly common with the shift to remote and hybrid work environments. Hackers can benefit from brute-force attacks in various ways, including stealing personal data, hijacking systems for malicious activity, or damaging a website's reputation. It is crucial to use strong and unique passwords to protect against brute-force attacks.

There are multiple types of brute-force attacks including:

• Simple Brute Force Attacks: In this type of attack used to guess simple passwords, hackers attempt to logically guess credentials without the assistance of software tools or other means.?
• Dictionary Attacks: In a dictionary attack, a hacker chooses a target and runs possible passwords against that username. Dictionary attacks are the most basic brute force attack tool, and are often used as a key part of password cracking.
• Hybrid Brute Force Attacks: In these attacks used to figure out combination passwords that mix common words with random characters, hackers blend outside means with their logical guesses to attempt a break-in. A hybrid attack typically mixes dictionary and brute-force attacks.?
• Reverse Brute Force Attacks: A reverse brute force attack reverses the attack strategy. The attacker starts with a known password and then searches millions of usernames until they find a match. In many cases, cybercriminals start with leaked
• ?passwords that are available online from existing data breach.
• Credential Stuffing: Threat actors recognize that users frequently reuse login information across many websites and exploit this poor security practice. If a malicious actor has a username-password combination that works for one website, they’ll try it in many others as well. Common Tools Used in Brute-Force Attacks

The most common tools leveraged in brute-force attacks are the ones that help automate the process of guessing credentials and finding combinations. These tools can find weak passwords, decrypt password data, run character combinations, and launch dictionary attacks. Some of the most popular brute-force attack tools include:

• John the Ripper: John the Ripper is an open-source tool that enables users to deploy dictionary attacks and detect weak passwords through various cracking and decryption techniques.
• Aircrack-ng: Aircrack-ng is an open-source penetration testing tool focused on wireless network security. It enables users to run dictionary attacks against network protocols.
• Hashcat: Hashcat is a penetration testing platform that allows hackers to use known "hashes", a password that's run through a formula and converted to a string of random characters that is always the same length regardless of how much data the password contains. With this known data, they can use Hashcat to run dictionary or rainbow table attacks to reverse the password back to readable text.

Are You At Risk?

If you choose weak passwords, which are easy to remember and do not include upper and lower case letters, numbers, or special characters, you run a higher risk of being the victim of a brute force attack. 83% of Americans use weak passwords, both in terms of complexity (only letters and numbers) and length (less than 10 characters). 53% also reuse the same password across multiple accounts. Account credentials often include personal information, like a user's name, birthday, or interests, that is easily accessible online. Cybercriminals can use these factors to make brute force attacks easier and more convenient. They could steal data or proprietary information to sell on the dark web or lock administrators out until they pay a ransom.

There is a high probability that if you are the target of a brute force attack, it will succeed and you will face these consequences. Theoretically brute-force attacks are 100% successful for the attackers. However, adversaries might have to wait for years before their automated systems can correctly guess a complicated password.

Keep Learning About Brute-Force Attacks

Brute force attacks can be used to gain unauthorized access to a computer system. They take advantage of credential vulnerabilities, such as passwords that are poorly designed, recycled or stagnant. Hackers use a variety of brute-force techniques, online and offline approaches, and sophisticated software to quickly obtain the correct credentials. By implementing the tips, best practices, and advice shared in this article you can reduce the risk of being the victim of a brute force attack.

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