Comprehensive Attack On Passwords And User Accounts – What Is Brute Force And How Is It Implemented?

Herbert Huffner Security July 8, 2021

Brute Force Attack, Which Some Sources Use To Describe The Term Exhaustive Search, Refers To A Specific Type Of Cryptographic Hack.

Brute Force Attack, in a pervasive search attack, the hacker continues to attack as long as he cannot detect the composition of a password.

Inclusive search attacks are mostly aimed at gaining access to the personal information of users or organizations, and there are several types, the most important of which will be discussed in this article.

What is a pervasive search attack?

An all-inclusive search attack is an attack vector in which all possible modes for a password are tested until the correct password is found. Statistics show that a pervasive search attack carries out most information intrusions into systems or user accounts because this attack mechanism is simple and highly reliable. Typically, hackers use ready-made tools to test different usernames and passwords to get the right combination.

The best mechanism is to counter, detect, and thwart a pervasive search attack. Once hackers gain access to the information network, the defense operation becomes more difficult and complex.

The longer the password size, the longer it takes to test possible modes and combinations. Accordingly, pervasive search attacks are time-consuming.

In addition, the implementation of this attack will be successful only if the organization or home user has not used the Data Masking technique because, in this case, the successful implementation of the attack is almost impossible. As a result, if you use a weak password for users or corporate accounts, hackers will be able to identify the password in a short time, sometimes a few seconds.

Decrypting weak passwords is not a difficult task for hackers. It is similar to catching fish from a pond, so security experts develop strict policies for choosing strong passwords for enterprise users. As a result, if you use a weak password for users or corporate accounts, hackers will be able to identify the password in a short time, sometimes a few seconds.

As a result, if you use a weak password for users or corporate accounts, hackers will be able to identify the password in a short time, sometimes a few seconds.

An all-inclusive search attack requires considerable energy and time.e

For each cryptographic pattern, the time required to test all possible scenarios for a key can be calculated. Cryptographic patterns are typically designed so that it is impossible or ineffective to test all possible scenarios at an acceptable time. Typically, the software blocks a user’s account after entering incorrect passwords several times or delays the validation process to prevent other cases from being tested.

In some cases, the words in a dictionary are tested as possible ways to break the password, which is called a password attack, because users are more likely to choose meaningful words for the password than to choose meaningless words.

A comprehensive search attack works by calculating and testing all possible modes that can form a password. As the password length increases, the time to find the password increases on average exponentially.

The resources required (CPU and GPU) for a pervasive search attack increase exponentially (rather than linearly) as the key length increases.

This is why modern symmetric algorithms today use 128- to 256-bit keys to make it harder for hackers to crack passwords. Now let us use some of the laws of the physics world to calculate the execution of this attack.

According to one physical argument, 128-bit symmetric keys are computationally secure against a pervasive search attack. Based on the laws of physics, the Landau limit principle states that to clear each bit of low-limit information, the energy required is given by the formula kT * Ln2, where T is the temperature of the computing device (in Kelvin) and k is the Boltzmann constant.

In addition, the natural logarithm of number 2 (logarithm 2 based ones) is equal to 0.693, which no irreversible computing device can consume less than this energy. So to be able to guess the possible values for 128 symmetric bits (without actually doing the calculations to find it), you theoretically need 2128-1 bits on a typical processor.

Assuming that the calculations are performed at a temperature close to room temperature (300 K), the Neumann-Landau law can be used to calculate the energy required to do this.

This energy is approximately equal to 1018 joules, equivalent to consuming 30 gigawatts of power per year. Complete calculations to check each key repeatedly consume this amount of energy.

This value is only the amount of energy required to travel the key state space, and the time required to change each bit is not considered. With this description, you can see that this attack is only used to target critical organizations or individuals!

Why do hackers use a pervasive search attack?

Comprehensive search attacks are performed to collect identity information, such as passwords, passphrases, usernames, and Personal Identification Numbers. In addition, a pervasive search attack uses a script, a hacker program, or processes embedded in the main memory and uses some repetitive process to obtain the information they need.

Pervasive search attacks are used at the early stages of the Cyber Kill Chain and when intrusion is detected. Hackers need entry points to attack an organization’s communications infrastructure, and attack-based search vectors are the fastest way. After accessing the network, hackers can again use all-encompassing search techniques to increase access levels or encryption downgrade attacks.

In addition, hackers use pervasive search attacks to search for hidden web pages. Hidden web pages are sites that exist on the Internet but are not linked to other pages. In a pervasive search attack, different URLs are searched to find a valid web address to penetrate.

In a pervasive search attack, different URLs are searched to find a valid web address for penetration.

In this method, hackers look for vulnerabilities in software or web pages that contain usernames and passwords. Because pervasive search attacks are not particularly complex, hackers can run multiple automated attacks simultaneously to find the best option for the attack.

Hidden web pages are sites that exist on the Internet but are not linked to other pages. In a pervasive search attack, different URLs are searched to find a valid web address to penetrate.

Because pervasive search attacks are not particularly complex, hackers can run multiple automated attacks simultaneously to find the best option for the attack. Hidden web pages are sites that exist on the Internet but are not linked to other pages.

In a pervasive search attack, different URLs are searched to find a valid web address to penetrate.

In a pervasive search attack, different URLs are searched to find a valid web address for penetration. In this method, hackers look for vulnerabilities in software or web pages that contain usernames and passwords. Because pervasive search attacks are not particularly complex, hackers can run multiple automated attacks simultaneously to find the best option for the attack.

What is the purpose of a pervasive search Brute Force Attacks?

Hackers use pervasive search attacks for the following reasons:

Theft of personal identity information such as passwords and information used to access accounts and network resources.
Stealing and collecting credit documents for sale.
Show yourself instead of the person who is the legal owner of an account and then send phishing links or distribute fake content to the user audience.
Damage to sites and information that are publicly visible to the public tarnish the reputation of a brand.
Redirect domains to sites that contain malicious code and scripts.
Of course, security experts also use pervasive search attacks to identify vulnerabilities, weak passwords, or weak cryptographic algorithms.

Familiarity with different types of pervasive search Brute Force Attacks

The pervasive search attack is implemented in various forms. The simplest type of pervasive search attack is the dictionary attack. In the above method, hackers test a dictionary containing common words used for passwords on the victim’s account.

Reports from security agencies show that computers can decrypt an eight-character password over the past decade without a combination of uppercase, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters using a comprehensive two-hour search. Decrypt passwords that use poor encryption over a period of several months. These models of attacks are known as Exhaustive Key Search.

In this model of attacks, the computer tests all the different combinations of characters to identify the correct combination. Credential Recycling is another pervasive search attack that uses hacked usernames and passwords in previous hackers to infiltrate new systems. However, there are other types of pervasive search attacks, the most important of which are:

Combined comprehensive search Brute Force Attacks

A hybrid Attack refers to a special type of attack vector that hackers use several tools to attack. In this attack vector, the dictionary attack is combined with another attack to identify the victim’s password. Dictionary attacks begin by guessing common passwords and identifying the correct password from a list of words stored in the dictionary.

For example, if the personal password is a password, a pervasive search bot can decrypt it in just a few seconds. Due to the emergence of emerging defense methods, other dictionary attacks are obsolete.

Reverse sweep search Brute Force Attacks

In reverse retrieval search attacks, the hacker uses a common password for multiple usernames to access network resources. How reverse search attacks work is that the hacker has the password in the form of a known value but does not know the username. Reverse sweeper search attacks do not target a specific username but instead use several custom passwords or a single password to test a list of possible usernames.

For example, a normal password such as Password is selected, and then an attempt is made to match a username with this password. Given that the word Password is the most common password, the chances of success are high.

Credit manipulation

Credential Stuffing is another attack vector that a hacker uses to expose a user’s leaked credentials to infiltrate the system. Such an attack uses bots for automation and scalability.

In addition, a credit manipulation attack is implemented based on the principle that most users use the same usernames and passwords for different services. Once a hacker has access to the victim’s username and password, they may use that information to access various network resources. That’s why security experts advise users to use two-step authentication and choose different passwords for different network resources to reduce the chances of hackers successfully implementing pervasive search attacks.

How do we defend ourselves against pervasive search Brute Force Attacks?

Comprehensive search attacks take time to implement. Some of these attacks may take weeks or months to succeed. In most cases, the mechanisms adopted to counter these attacks are such that the time required for the attack to succeed beyond the norm is determined to be technically difficult to achieve (for example, the characters that the user enters in the relevant fields with There are some delays in the fields). Still, this approach is not the only efficient method.

The most important steps that can be taken to prevent these Brute Force Attacks are the following:

Please increase the number of characters in passwords: When a password has more characters, it takes more time to decrypt it through a pervasive search attack.
Configuring passwords: The longer and more obscure the characters in a password, the longer it takes to decrypt them through a pervasive search attack.
Limit the number of attempts to log in: A good way to defend against these attacks is to lock the account after a certain number of unsuccessful attempts to log in. This prevents the successful implementation of these attacks.
Using a security image: Captcha or security image is a common mechanism used to verify that a user is human on websites. This method prevents bots from succeeding in identifying passwords.
Using Multi-Factor Authentication: Multi-factor authentication is the second security mechanism used to log in to user accounts. In addition, multi-factor authentication requires human interaction, which hinders the successful implementation of pervasive search attacks.

last word

All in all, pervasive search attacks are used to identify the correct combination of characters. If a weak or simple password is used for an account, it allows hackers to identify it quickly. Poor and overly simple passwords are the main vulnerabilities around networks.

However, using complex passwords, limiting the number of attempts to log in to the account, and enabling two-step authentication significantly reduce the chances of hackers successfully implementing these attacks.

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