9 Most Common Types of Password Attacks and How to Stop Them

Passwords are a common form of authentication and are used to grant access to online accounts, devices, and other resources. However, passwords are also a common target for attackers, who may use a variety of techniques to try to guess or capture them. This article explains different types of password attacks and password attack prevention.

Passwords are vulnerable to attack because they are often the only barrier standing between an attacker (who uses various types of password attacks) and access to a person’s sensitive information or accounts. Because of this, attackers will often try to discover or guess a person’s password to gain access to their accounts and information.

Passwords are vulnerable to attack for several reasons:

• First, many people use weak, easily guessable passwords that can be easily cracked by an attacker. For example, a password that consists of a single dictionary word or personal information (such as a name or date of birth) can be easily guessed by an attacker using a dictionary attack or brute-force attack.

• Second, many people reuse the same password for multiple accounts, which makes it easy for an attacker to gain access to multiple accounts if they can crack just one password. This is particularly dangerous because many people use the same email address for all of their accounts, so once an attacker has access to one account, they may be able to use the “forgot password” feature to reset the password on other accounts.

• Third, passwords can be vulnerable to theft through various means, such as keyloggers, phishing attacks, and social engineering. These attacks can trick users into revealing their passwords, allowing the attacker to gain access to their accounts.

Password attacks are a common and highly effective way for attackers to gain unauthorized access to computer systems and networks. These attacks can take many forms, and they can range from simple to complex.

Top 9 Types of Password Attacks and How to Prevent Them
Below are the types of password attacks (in no particular order) that you should be aware of and tips on preventing those password attacks. The section later also talks about alternative ways to effectively prevent these password attacks by taking care of a single aspect.

1. Dictionary Attacks
2. Brute Force Attacks
3. Rainbow Table Attacks
4. Social Engineering Attacks
5. Password Spraying Attacks
6. Keylogger Attacks
7. Man-in-the-middle Attack
8. Credential Stuffing
9. Phishing

Read more about each password attack in detail and the way of their prevention in our Blog.