What are Credential Stuffing Attacks and How to Stay Protected?

Yet another day and a new threat phenomenon has appeared in the world of online threats. It is creating problems for not only the companies but for individuals too. Instead of hacking accounts cybercriminals are now accessing them with legitimate username and passwords.

But how is this possible? This is possible as cybercriminals know most people use same passwords on different site even when they are stolen. So, they are using stolen credentials like username and password to design credential stuffing attacks. They use botnets to verify credentials and if a match is found they use the details to gain access to the account, website and steal other details.

What is Credential Stuffing?

It is cybercrime method used by threat actors to create automated scripts and use stolen credentials against a targeted website. This technique is gaining popularity due to its success rate because majority of users reuse stolen credentials on multiple accounts. This means one data breach is threat for many other organizations and every company is vulnerable to cyber stuffing attacks even if they are 100% secured.

To stay protected a company not only needs strong security system but it also needs to pay attention to changing cybersecurity trends to keep up with attackers.

Unlike credential cracking, credential stuffing doesn’t make an attempt to speculate or brute force individual’s password.

How Credential Stuffing Attacks Take Place?

Bad guys merely run a list of credentials pairs that they have attained for free from the Internet or from public site available on the Dark Web. They use various tools to test credential combinations, successful logins are saved and once they have a database with working credentials target attacks take place and they takeover accounts.

An account can be exploited in several ways therefore if you think you are 100% secure then you are at the greater risk. Also, as credential stuffing attacks do not target anyone in particular in years to come they will be more popular. Because rarely people change their passwords about a data breach or stop reusing the same password.

Also Read : What Should You Know About Internet Security?

How to Stay Protected from Credential Stuffing Attacks?

The best defense against credential stuffing attack is to make sure unique passwords are used for each site. Besides, this here we enlist certain tips to stay protected from credential stuffing attacks:

1. Employees should be educated about the danger stolen password and usernames pose to an organization.
2. Setup two-step verification systems for apps, websites and personal accounts.
3. Use credential validators, so that if anyone tries to login in, register or change the password the service can check database of known compromised credentials, if found the person is warned to change the details.
4. Use password managers to generate complex passwords for each site.
5. If you are not in favor of using password manager, then create a password with a character length of more than 8 character with special characters. Avoid using your date of birth, name or any personal information.

If you keep these small tips in mind you can stay one step ahead of criminals. But surely the best protection in this world is to never get exposed. Therefore, we recommend everyone to visit websites that are genuine and never trust anyone or anything they see online. A genuine website can also be cut down by skilled hacker, which is why we need to protect ourselves and use all possible security tips.

Must Read : Technologies That Can Make You A Victim To Cyber-Attacks

We hope you will keep the tips mentioned above in mind to stay protected from credential stuffing attacks. If you have other tips in mind, please feel free to share the same with us in the comments sections below!