Section 17.160 Password Attacks

Question 1

Password Attacks

Answer 1

Methods used by attackers to crack or recover passwords

Question 2

Types of password attacks

Brute Force

Answer 2

Tries every possible character combination until the correct password is found

■ Effective for simple passwords but time-consuming for complex ones

Question 3

Brute Force Mitigation

Answer 3

● Increasing password complexity and length

● Limiting login attempts

● Using multi factor authentication

● Employing CAPTCHAS

Question 4

Types of password attacks

Dictionary

Answer 4

Uses a list of commonly used passwords (a dictionary) to crack passwords

■ May include variations with numbers and symbols

■ Effective against common, easy-to-guess passwords

Attacker Dictionaries are up to date using special characters etc

Question 5

Dictionary Mitigation

Answer 5

Increase password complexity and length, limit login attempts, use multifactor authentication, and employ CAPTCHAS

Question 6

Types of password attacks

Password Spraying

Answer 6

A form of brute force attack that tries a few common passwords against many usernames or accounts

■ Effective because it avoids account lockouts and targets weak passwords

Question 7

Password Spraying Mitigation

Answer 7

Use unique passwords and implement multi-factor authentication

Question 8

Types of password attacks

Hybrid

Question 9

Types of password attacks

Hybrid Mitigation

Answer 9

Combines elements of brute force and dictionary attacks

■ May include variations, such as adding numbers or special characters to passwords

■ Can use a static dictionary or dynamically create variations

■ Effective for discovering passwords following specific patterns