Stolen, weak and reused passwords are the leading cause of hacking-related data breaches and a tried-and-true way of gaining access to the enterprise's IT resources. And with billions of credentials available on the dark web, cybercriminals don’t have to go to great lengths to find compromised passwords.
Hackers want easy access to get the best return on investment, and improving the organization's password security establishes more barriers for them to overcome.
There are different ways password attacks occur and practices to mitigate enterprise risk. Understanding the types of password attacks and the common types is vital to implementing security processes and systems to prevent and respond to them efficiently and effectively.
Understanding password attacks
A password attack is a cyber attack that aims to gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or accounts by exploiting weak or compromised passwords. Attackers use various techniques to obtain passwords, often as part of broader campaigns to infiltrate systems or escalate privileges.
Types of password attacks
Password attacks fall into several broad categories. They are categorized based on the tactics and techniques used and the nature of the attack. The main types of password attacks are:
- Credential reuse attacks exploit credentials leaked from previous data breaches in attacks where attackers use known username-password pairs on multiple services (credential stuffing).
- Exhaustive search attacks attempt to systematically guess passwords by trying all possible combinations (brute force) or using precompiled lists of common passwords or phrases (dictionary attacks).
- Network interception attacks capture passwords as they are transmitted over networks (man-in-the-middle attacks, packet sniffing, and DNS spoofing).
- Offline cracking attacks target password hashes or encrypted password databases obtained from compromised systems (rainbow table attacks).
- Password-guessing attacks rely on guessing passwords based on personal information or predictable patterns (password spraying).
- Social engineering attacks manipulate human behavior and exploit users' weaknesses to obtain passwords (phishing and impersonation).
- Surveillance attacks involve monitoring user input or behavior to capture credentials (keylogging, shoulder surfing, or hidden camera surveillance).
Common types of password attacks
Password hacking encompasses various techniques that cybercriminals employ to gain unauthorized access to secure systems. These hacking methods, along with others, highlight the ongoing threat landscape that necessitates robust cybersecurity practices and vigilance. By understanding these primary attack types, individuals and organizations can implement targeted strategies to strengthen their defenses against unauthorized access attempts.
Brute-force attack
A brute-force attack is a type of password attack where hackers make numerous hit-or-miss attempts to gain access. It is a simple attack and often involves automated methods, such as software, for trying multiple letter-number variations.
Employing an extensive number of possibilities takes a long time, so attackers must look for efficiencies. To generate a list of potential combinations, they often start with easy choices, such as common or short passwords. If they know the password requirements for a specific provider (such as the minimum number of characters accepted), the attackers will apply those criteria as well.
Keylogger attack
A keylogger is a type of spyware that records a user's activity by logging keyboard strokes. Cybercriminals use keyloggers to steal a variety of sensitive data, from passwords to credit card numbers. In a password attack, the keylogger records not only the username and password but also the website or application where those credentials are used, along with other sensitive information.
Keyloggers can be either hardware or software. Since planting hardware on a device takes a lot of extra work, the threat actors are more likely to install malware on a computer or device by luring a user to click on a malicious link or attachment. Some keyloggers also come bundled with software (like "free" applications) that users download from third-party sites.
Dictionary attack
A type of brute-force password attack, a dictionary attack is based on a list of commonly used words and phrases, as well as often-used passwords. To avoid having to crack a long list of possible passwords, attackers narrow down the list to what's known as dictionary words.
Those words are not limited to actual words in the dictionary. They could also include popular names of pets, movie characters, and people. Hackers will also utilize variations by appending letters with numbers and special characters (e.g., substituting the letter O with the number 0).
Credential stuffing
Credential stuffing password attacks are similar to brute-force attacks in that the attackers use trial-and-error to gain access. However, instead of guessing passwords, they use stolen credentials. Credential stuffing is based on the assumption that many people reuse their passwords for multiple accounts across various platforms.
Over the years, numerous breaches of websites and cloud-based services have resulted in a massive number of compromised credentials. Just one single major provider breach can yield millions of victim accounts, which cybercriminals then sell, lease, or give away on the dark web.
Attackers use credential stuffing to verify which stolen passwords are still valid or work on other platforms. As with brute-force attacks, automated tools make these password attacks incredibly successful.
Man-in-the-middle
A man-in-the-middle scenario involves three parties: the user, the attacker, and the third party with whom the person is trying to communicate. In a password attack, cybercriminals typically impersonate a legitimate third party, often through a phishing email.
The email looks authentic and may spoof the third party's email address to throw off even savvier users. The attackers try to convince the recipient to click on a link that goes to a fake but authentic-looking website, then harvest the credentials when the user logs in.
Traffic interception
Traffic interception, a variation on the man-in-the-middle attack, involves the threat actors eavesdropping on network traffic to monitor and capture data. A common way of doing this is through unsecured Wi-Fi connections or connections that don't use encryption, such as HTTP.
Even SSL traffic is vulnerable in this scenario. For example, a hacker can use a man-in-the-middle attack in what's called SSL hijacking. When someone tries to connect to a secure website, the attacker creates a bridge of sorts between the user and the intended destination and intercepts any information passing between the two, such as passwords.
Phishing
As mentioned above, phishing is a versatile approach. Cybercriminals use different phishing and social engineering tactics, from phishing emails for man-in-the-middle attacks to a combination of spear phishing and vishing (a multi-step password attack that includes a voice call and a link to a malicious site that harvests credentials). The latter has been used in attacks targeting employees' virtual private network (VPN) credentials.
Phishing attacks typically create urgency for the user. That's why the emails often claim a bogus account charge, service expiration, an IT or HR issue, or a similar matter that is more likely to gain the person's attention.
Password spraying
Another form of a brute-force attack, password spraying, involves trying a large number of common passwords on a small number of user accounts or even on just one account.
Attackers go to great lengths to avoid detection during password spraying. Usually, they'll conduct reconnaissance first to limit the number of login attempts and prevent account lockup.
Cybersecurity best practices to reduce password attack risks
Despite the fact that password attacks are one of the most common types of cyber attacks, they can be prevented. A well-planned cyber defense strategy combined with cybersecurity tools and programs materially reduces the risk and impact of password attacks.
Defending against password attacks
The best password attack strategies start with an understanding of common password security risks and an assessment of password vulnerabilities. Once security gaps or weaknesses have been identified, IT and security teams should determine what existing tools and processes can be leveraged as part of the defense and consider how these can be optimized and bolstered.
Preventing password attacks
Adopting best practices for password hygiene and management is the best way to prevent password attacks. Easy-to-hack environments with a weak security posture are much more appealing to opportunistic cybercriminals. Effective defense against password attacks requires a combination of policies, tools, and frameworks to boost an enterprise's ability to avoid a data breach.
Policies for password attack defense
- Requiring strong passwords that are long (e.g., 12+ characters), complex, usual, and unique for each website or account
- Changing passwords when a breach is suspected
- Implementing multi-factor authentication when possible
- Adopting a password manager to simplify password management and ensure secure storage
- Limiting access to privileged accounts and adding additional security layers for those accounts
- Educating all employees and anyone else with access to organizational resources about password security also enables prevention
Tools to prevent password attacks
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)—access control tools that require users to present multiple forms of verification (e.g., passwords, biometrics, hardware tokens) login
- Privileged Access Management (PAM)—tools that secure, monitor, and manage privileged accounts
- Password hashing and salting—tools that store passwords securely by applying strong hashing algorithms (e.g., bcrypt, Argon2) with unique salts make offline cracking attacks like rainbow tables ineffective
- Rate limiting and account lockout mechanisms—tools that throttle login attempts or temporarily lock accounts after multiple failed attempts
- Monitoring anomaly detection—tools that proactively monitor authentication attempts and detect unusual behavior
- Secure password reset mechanisms—tools that ensure that password recovery processes are secure
- Network segmentation—dividing network resources into isolated segments to limit the damage from compromised credentials and prevent lateral movement
- Continuous authentication—continuously assessing user identity through contextual signals (e.g., device posture, geolocation, behavioral biometrics)
Real-world examples of password attacks
Recent real-world password attacks underscore the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures to prevent password attacks. The following are several notable incidents.
13cabs Data Breach (March 2025)
13cabs, an Australian taxi company, detected unauthorized access to its applications that potentially exposed user information such as usernames, phone numbers, and addresses. It is believed that this password attack employed credential stuffing.
Parascript Ransomware Attack (August 2024)
Parascript, LLC, an Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) with customers in sectors that produce and manage sensitive information (e.g., banking, insurance, healthcare, and government), experienced a ransomware attack. In this password attack, which led to unauthorized access to sensitive consumer information, including Social Security Numbers, attackers exploited compromised credentials to infiltrate systems.
Microsoft Midnight Blizzard Attack (January 2024)
Russian-state hackers successfully accessed Microsoft's systems to compromise test tenant accounts and exfiltrated emails and documents from a limited number of corporate email accounts, including those of senior leadership and employees in cybersecurity and legal departments. The attackers used a password spray attack to gain unauthorized access.
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