Brute Force Attacks

Brute Force Attacks

Brute force attacks, also discussed as dictionary and password attacks, is when an attacker systematically tries to access a password protected site or server.

How do brute force attacks work?

The brute force attack’s aim is to decrypt your encrypted data. An automated program tests millions of PINs, passwords and phrases in an attempt to eventually guess the correct one; systematic and intelligent trial-and-error technique. Like a computer shooting arrows at a target, testing different angles, strength, starting positions – learning faster after each failure – until it hits bulls eye at which the computer now knows the exact settings.

Who is vulnerable to brute force attacks?

Brute force attacks are ever-increasing and infamous hacking methods today. Verizon’s 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report highlights brute force attacks amongst the top 3 data breach methods used last year, malware and computer viruses still dominating. More specifically, out of over 620 billion intrusion attacks detected on Intrusion Protection Software (IPS) in the report, more than ¾ were brute force attacks on WordPress and webmail.

Today, the web is filled with inexpensive automated brute force attack software applications which allows even the less technical individual to access servers which they are unauthorised for.

Why would someone attempt to perform brute force attacks?

The reasons are many, brute force is usually used for financial reasons or espionage to gain access to some sort of data or intel. This can be anyone with interest to gain in the case of a company suffering damage or disturbance. Such as a disgruntled ex-employee, a competitor, a saboteur, political activists…

What can be done to prevent brute force attacks?

Simply increasing password strengths is a good place to start, but is rarely enough when facing a sophisticated software.

This is where Syspeace is a great solution for your company. Syspeace was created with the intention of keeping you safe from brute force attacks.
Our computer protection software reasons about the pattern of failed login attempts and sequentially blocks the attacker once it can discern the attack from a legitimate user logging in incorrectly.

You can read more about how Syspeace works, or contact us for any specific queries. In the meantime, feel free to download and try our 30-day free trial.

We don’t have any brute force attack problems?

Sometimes the damage is irreparable. Most of these attacks go unnoticed and intruders have gained continuous access for long periods of time. Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation Report (2018) highlighted that 68% of businesses took months or longer to discover the breach. This is why a proactive rather than reactive IT management strategy is advocated in regard to brute force attempts. Syspeace is an inexpensive solution, the economic costs of a hack are however be unfathomable.

It is also possible to check if you’ve had any recent unauthorised failed login attempts in your Security Event Log. If the event ID 4625 is showcased from a source which should not have access then your servers have been exposed.

You can also download and try our 30-day free trial for one or more servers. This will allow you access to data reports on attempted intrusion attacks and ultimately decide if Syspeace is for you – once you have hands-on experience about what Syspeace can do against your brute force attacks.