Brute force attack is a form of cyber attack where malicious actors deploy automated programs that continuously try different combinations of passwords or other security credentials until they discover the correct combination to gain access to the target system or website. This type of attack is a trial-and-error method, relying solely on guessing power rather than exploiting any underlying software vulnerabilities.
In many cases, the malicious actors employ a technique called a “dictionary attack”, where combinations of commonly-used words are guessed instead of random string of characters. Some attackers have even been known to employ rainbow tables, which contain pre-computed attempts at cracking encoded passwords.
Brute force attacks are mainly used in two types of situations. The first is when a user is trying to gain access to a system by guessing a username and password combination. The second is when a malicious actor wants to gain access to encrypted data or other sensitive information.
To prevent brute force attacks, system administrators must take necessary security measures such as using strong passwords or two-factor authentication. Limit password attempts can also be put in place, or captchas can be used before allowing login attempts. Additionally, organizations may use threat intelligence software and cyber security solutions to watch for such attacks and alert administrators of suspicious activity.
