What is a brute force attack and how does it work?
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 6:47 am
The goal of a brute force attack is to break the authentication of a system, be it an online account, a database, or any other resource protected by credentials. Once access singapore item phone number for whatsapp is gained, the attacker can steal sensitive data, install malware, or use the compromised system to perform further malicious activities.
With brute force, the attacker intends to find the login credentials by trying, in sequence, all the possible combinations of usable characters. Cybercriminals generally use software to automate password combinations.
The process is conceptually simple, but can be extremely elaborate in practice. Here are the main steps:
Target identification: The attacker identifies the system to be compromised.
Automated attempts: Specialized software is used to systematically try each generated password.
Results Analysis: The program monitors the target system's responses to identify any successful attempts.
Unauthorized access: Once the password is found, the hacker gains access to the system.
When a brute force attack is aimed at a WordPress website, the common target is the vulnerable xmlrpc.php file (a file present by default in all versions of WordPress) or the admin login page.
The xmlrpc.php is responsible for RPC calls and allows access to the site via applications developed for mobile devices. In this case, the attack is much more difficult to detect and in almost all cases gives the desired effect, that is, access to the site and, as a consequence of the method used, an overload of the server.
With brute force, the attacker intends to find the login credentials by trying, in sequence, all the possible combinations of usable characters. Cybercriminals generally use software to automate password combinations.
The process is conceptually simple, but can be extremely elaborate in practice. Here are the main steps:
Target identification: The attacker identifies the system to be compromised.
Automated attempts: Specialized software is used to systematically try each generated password.
Results Analysis: The program monitors the target system's responses to identify any successful attempts.
Unauthorized access: Once the password is found, the hacker gains access to the system.
When a brute force attack is aimed at a WordPress website, the common target is the vulnerable xmlrpc.php file (a file present by default in all versions of WordPress) or the admin login page.
The xmlrpc.php is responsible for RPC calls and allows access to the site via applications developed for mobile devices. In this case, the attack is much more difficult to detect and in almost all cases gives the desired effect, that is, access to the site and, as a consequence of the method used, an overload of the server.