Many people may not be familiar with the term brute force attack. What is it? And why is it used? This article will answer those questions and more. Let’s discover what a brute force attack is, how they work, and their purpose.
What is a Brute Force Attack?
A brute force attack is a method used to decipher data that requires trial and error. Common applications for this are cracking passwords and keys, like encryption key combinations. Other common targets of this kind of hack are API keys and SSH logins, which can often be cracked by scripts or bots that target the website’s login page. The hacker attempts to gain access to a system by methodically trying every possible password. They know that it can take years, even decades, to try to decode the entry, which is why they turn to using this method.
What makes brute force attacks different from other cracking methods is that they don’t employ an intellectual strategy; they simply try to use different combinations of characters until the correct combination is found. This process could be compared to a thief trying to crack a combo safe by attempting every possible number combination on it until the lock opens.
How Does it Work?
A brute force attack is when a system or a website is attacked with a large number of requests. The attacker takes advantage of the resourcefulness of the system by using repetitive, automated requests to bombard it with data. This makes it difficult for the server to keep up and thus opens the door for hackers.
This type of attack can be easily performed on websites that are not protected from such attacks. For example, if you wanted to access your bank account online, you would type in your username and password into an address bar in your browser. This means there is nothing protecting yourself from being attacked, so any hacker could steal your personal information just by typing these same credentials into their browser.
Is it That Effective?
Brute force attacks are not always effective. In fact, they are often futile. As a result, they aren’t worth the effort in most cases. Brute force attacks are very slow as they take a lot of time to run through every possible combination of characters and once it gets past the first few characters in your password, there isn’t enough time. For example, if you had a four-character password that took significantly longer than a three-character or five-character password.
However, if you have a high volume of login attempts each week and 30 seconds is all it takes to launch an attack, then it could be more easily accessible for the hacker.
The Role Encryption Keys Play in Brute Force Attacks
So, now that we’ve discussed what a brute force attack is, how they work, and their purpose, let’s learn more about what they do when they successfully find an encryption key.
Encryption keys play a significant role in brute force attacks. These keys are used to encrypt data and if an unauthorized person has these encryption keys, they can decrypt the data. Thus, the purpose of brute force attacks is to get an authorized person’s encryption key.
Brute force attack works by trying out every possible combination of numbers until it finds the correct one. The process of finding the correct number that unlocks the data is called a dictionary attack. In this article, we’ll go more into how this happens and how it affects your business as well as what you can do to prevent it from happening to you.
Prevention Methods for Brute Force Attacks
There are many ways to prevent your personal data accounts from a brute force attack. Here are a few prevention methods:
Use Unique Passwords
When it comes to passwords, there’s no one formula that will work for everyone. You have to decide what level of risk you are comfortable with and know the consequences associated with hacking or brute force attacks. It is recommended by security experts – even those who swear by a simple password -to use unique passwords for each service, as well as enable two-factor authentication when available.
Never Use Personal Info As Passwords
It is crucial for users to avoid entering passwords or personal information such as credit card numbers, banking information, etc. on any web service that doesn’t protect their data with strong encryption keys.
Limit the number of allowable login attempts
Make sure to have your account settings limited to only a couple of login attempts, that way if a hacker tries to steal your information, they only have a few tries instead of unlimited attempts.
You can also try these tips as well:
- Implementing two-factor authentication
- Installing an antivirus or anti-malware program on your computer
- Blocking access to your network from certain IP addresses