Last week I received this question in Quora.
"How do hackers steal our passwords so easily?"
By seeing this question i started researching on what techniques do hackers use to crack our passwords. I have found some information on this.
If you are curious just like me read it below.
In this modern era if someone have our passwords it is equal to GAME OVER.We will be vulnerable to various online attacks.
Security breaches are happening around the globe. But still some people are using 'password' as their password.
A big salute for them. It is really courageous.
Coming back to the topic. Hackers have various techniques under their sleeves depending upon the accounts they are going to breach. Let's discuss some common techniques below.
- DICTIONARY ATTACK
The definition of dictionary attack goes by this
- It is a method of breaking into a password-protected computer or server by systematically entering everyword in the dictionary as passwords.
In simple words hackers use automated softwares to try various passwords suggestions from the dictionary.
Please note, dictionary mentioning here is not the one we use.
Hackers have a dictionary that consists of simple or most commonly used password combinations.
This method is comparitively the easiest one.
- BRUTE FORCE ATTACK
Definiton :
A brute-force attack is a cryptanalytic attack that can, in theory, be used to attempt to decrypt any encrypted data .
In simple words a hacker gains access to a website by guessing a correct username and password combination with the help of an automated software that performs trial and error method.
This method is one of the most common technique used by hackers.
- PASSWORD SNIFFING ATTACK
With the help of this technique hackers collect your credentials on unencrypted connections. By using certain tools on the internet hackers are able to monitor all incoming and outgoing data through a network. So they can intercept your usernames and passwords when they are transmitted through that connection.
This method is not popular nowadays because most of the protocols use strong encryption for passwords. In 1990 Sniffing attack was one of the worst security problems on Internet.
- PHISHING ATTACK
It is one of the old school trick among hackers, but it is still strong and effective.
So what is Phishing Attack?
It is a cyber attack that uses email as a disguised weapon. An email is sent to the victim by impersonating a legitimate entity and request them to provide sensitive informations like usernames passwords and in some cases even bank account details.
Email Phishing scams are still a major security issue for internet users. It is because the scammers are creating emails that replicates a real legitmate one, it is still hard to identify a scammed email at first look.
- KEYSTROKE LOGGING
Keystroke logging / keylogging is one of the creepiest technique used by hackers.
Keyloggers are a type of malware that enters into our computer and they burrow deep into certain computer files. As a result in most of the cases they cannot be detected.
These keyloggers are waiting for you to type your sensitive informations on the computer so that they can save every keystroke and sent it to the receiving hacker.
Keyloggers are especially dangerous because they completely expose all of your actions and not just your passwords.
- SOCIAL ENGINEERING ATTACK
Social engineering is an attack vector that relies heavily on human interaction and often involves manipulating people to acquire confidential information such as passwords or bank account details. In order to perform this technique hackers have their own creative actions.
- SPIDERING ATTACK
This type of attack is mainly seen in corporate sector where large number of security breaches happens.
Big companies hold the information of all their employees in a database. It is easy for hackers to obtain information of large number people at once, since most of the companies use standardized passwords for their routers, computers and other electronic devices connected to the internet.
Without much effort, hackers can break into the WiFi network and steal sensitive data.
So that's it. Sorry for making it too long.
These are some of common techniques seen among hackers.
There a lot of other techniques used by them, if you know something that I have missed feel free to share in the comments.
Thanks for reading and please show support. 😉👍