How Do Hackers Brute Force Your Passwords?

Cybercrimes have always existed as a result of internet usage in our society. Traversing the wide web, hackers are trying to exploit any nooks and crannies in the system. While many new types of crimes are arising on the internet, brute-force attacks are still the most common.

Based on recent research, they have grown from 13% to 31.6%  since 2020, accompanied by the rise in remote work during the pandemic. Let’s unpack how exactly hackers brute force passwords, and what you can do to prevent your data from being compromised.

What Is a Brute Force Attack?

A brute force attack is an approach hackers take when they try to log into any private account. It aims to find the right password, username, email, and encryption keys. Hackers usually utilize one or more computers to test out various combinations to determine if they’re right before finally logging in. 

Apart from receiving unauthorized access, they can also dive deeper to collect additional data from the system and relevant networks. While it sounds fairly simple and is pretty old, this approach is very reliable, so many hackers continue to brute force passwords.

There are quite a few examples of brute force attacks, including:

Basic Brute Force Attacks

Used since the beginning of the internet era, classic brute force attacks imply that the hacker is doing everything by hand. They do not use additional software to guess the users’ passwords, instead opting to combine numbers and letters to find the right one manually.

What’s particularly interesting is that this approach still works! Many people set “1234” or “mypassword0000” as their PIN codes, maximizing the chance of being hacked.

Dictionary Attacks

A dictionary attack is similar to the basic one but requires more effort from the criminal. Instead of just guessing, the hacker chooses their target’s username and employs their list of common passwords to break into their account.

Usually, they create the so-called dictionary of popular words and number combinations, giving this approach a suitable name. As we’ve already mentioned, the hacker will spend much more time and effort on the dictionary brute force attack, making it weak and unreliable in the modern world.

Hybrid Brute Force Attacks

A hybrid approach is just what it sounds like – basic and dictionary ones blended. The hacker has a certain username and tries to find a password to break into the account both by going through his dictionary and applying random combinations. 

Eventually, they might discover the right password by experimenting with various number and letter mixes. As a result of the hybrid brute force attack, the criminal will most commonly reveal passwords consisting of popular words they’ve collected throughout the years. 

Reverse Brute Force Attacks

When applying a reverse brute attack method, the hacker doesn’t start with the known username. Instead, they utilize the password received by previous information breaches. They will try to match the password with a list of different usernames attained the same way as the former. 

Credential Stuffing

Credential stuffing works when the target uses the same or similar login information for multiple accounts. Then, the cybercriminal will attain this data and apply it to all accounts they can find online, including social media networks, bank accounts, and any other personal services. 

Shielding Yourself from Brute Force Attacks

All users have confidential information to protect from malicious attacks, brute force included. Thankfully, there are various ways to prevent hacker activity in your network. Follow these rules:

• Create stronger passwords. Your password should be longer than 10 characters and include letters, numbers, and symbols. Make sure your letters are both lowercase and capital. If the service you’re using doesn’t let you create longer codes, experiment with the complexity of it. Don’t put information like your favorite band name or birth date if you want to make sure your password is secure; simple as that.
• Come up with unique passwords every time. To avoid credential stuffing, don’t reuse your passwords, ever. Think of a new combination every time you create a new account, regardless of the type. Otherwise, the hacker will be able to use the login data in bank accounts, emails, social media, and so on.
• Skip on popular passwords. Common number combinations like “1234”, “0000”, birth dates, and popular names shouldn’t be your password unless you don’t care about data breaches. All hackers know these codes, and they are most likely already in the cybercrime dictionary.
• Use a password manager. If you don’t have time to come up with passwords yourself, best password manager is a perfect way to shield yourself from unauthorized third-party access. Instead of thinking about a unique code every time, this software will do it for you. Each time you sign up for a new account, it will create a strong combination and remember it in the system for later inputs. Rather than remembering every single password, all you need is one code to access this software, which acts as an additional shield against hackers.
• Incorporate two-factor authentication. Brute force attackers are always looking for the password to match the username. Yet, it won’t be enough to log in if there is two-factor authentication enabled. In addition to the passcode, the system will ask you to prove that you want to log in by inputting another code. To attain it, you’ll need either a phone number or an email address, where the code will arrive.

Whether you’re a casual user or a tech-savvy individual, protecting yourself from malicious breaches is an important aspect of online safety. To avoid hackers that apply brute force attacks to your data and streamline your security, make sure to come up with unique passwords and utilize helpful software, as explained above.