Passwords are typically chosen by employees, and there is a lot of room for error in this since humans believe that passwords must be easily remembered. People tend to choose passwords based on information about themselves or their lives, and such passwords are more popular because they’re easier to remember than a string of nonsensical […]

Although it sounds somewhat ridiculous, hackers are extremely adept at exploiting the good and trusting nature of other human beings in order to con someone into giving them their passwords. This technique is defined by the term “social engineering.” The most common way of utilizing this technique is when a hacker simply asks for a […]

Authentication bypass is when someone is able to access a system or application without being authenticated. Since the whole foundation of authentication is based upon making sure that authorized users are the only ones accessing an application or a system, it is paramount that the system or app has authentication status of a user.  If […]

Authentication is the process of having to prove your identity to an application or system in order to demonstrate that you are who you say you are. Weak Authentication describes when in the strength of the authentication mechanism is relatively weak in comparison to the value of the assets that are being protected. It also describes […]

Brute Force is the act of simply guessing a password using information that you already know about the user. This includes information like birthdays, phone numbers, pet’s name, and the names of your loved ones. Although it might seem far fetched, hackers often figure out their victim’s password simply by guessing it. This method is […]

In order to be successful, the hacker needs to be in close proximity to their victims and not look like they are obviously looking at you. This method is very low risk for hackers, since all they have to do is look at your keyboard or screen when you are typing your password into your […]

“Shoulder surfing” is the act of a hacker looking over your shoulder in order to see what another person is typing. This is a free, low-tech and effective way for hackers to gain access to your password.

Dictionary attacks are in addition to brute force attacks. These include password cracking tools that have the ability to test a catalogue of passwords. This is known as a dictionary attack, since the file that is used may actually be a catalogue of dictionary words. Passwords with dictionary words are considered weak since they can […]