It’s no secret that passwords just aren’t very secret these days. Poor password hygiene and an overwhelming volume of digital accounts has influenced far many consumers to routinely reuse passwords across multiple accounts. As you might imagine, businesses have been hearing more and more about credential-stuffing attacks in the news.
Credential-stuffing attacks happen when a malicious actor obtains a list of stolen usernames and passwords and tests them at various other sites using a bot. The credentials themselves could come from anywhere: data breaches, phishing attacks, etc. Because so many consumers reuse the same credentials over and over again, a username and password stolen from a data breach at a major retailer could help a fraudster access that consumer’s online accounts.
To Detect Credential-Stuffing Attacks, Look for the Bots
While businesses can’t reasonably force a user to not reuse a password from another site, bot detection solutions can help detect and mitigate credential-stuffing activity. Detecting bot activity — and thereby reducing credential stuffing attacks — is helpful. Bot detection in the application layer can also help reduce denial-of-service-attacks. Bot detection that is further down, analyzing things such as behavioral biometrics, can recognize additional markers for scripted attacks and nonhuman activity.
Account Takeover: Addressing the Root Problem
Despite its utility, focusing efforts solely on bot detection to address credential-stuffing attacks is a bit like taking an aspirin for a headache when the true problem is a brain tumor. Credential stuffing is only step one; generally speaking, the ultimate goal of these attacks is account takeover. That is when a malicious actor actually gains access to an account a ..
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