Definition
Also known as account hijacking, this is a form of identity theft where an attacker gains unauthorized access to a user account. The attacker can use many techniques to achieve this like phishing, exploiting security vulnerabilities, or employing brute force attacks.
After gaining complete control of the account, the attacker can misuse it for malicious purposes, such as damaging the users’ reputation, stealing sensitive data, or even locking the users out of their accounts.
Account Takeover Examples
- E-commerce fraud: An attacker can access a user’s e-commerce account, diverting shipments to their location or buying items without authorization.
- Social media takeover: A malicious actor can take control of a user’s social media account to spread spam or dangerous content and harm the user’s online reputation.
How Do Account Takeovers Happen?
- Phishing: This is a social engineering technique attackers use to collect user data. Usually, they send a malicious link that redirects you to a fake login page for a service to collect your login credentials.
- Credential stuffing: Attackers can use a bot to automatically attempt to access a user account with a list of compromised or common passwords. These attacks are possible because of weak or reused passwords.
- Malware: Hackers can use malware to steal your data in many ways. For instance, they can record keystrokes as you authenticate your account or extract authentication information from your browser.
- Stolen cookies: Cookie files contain login session information that an attacker can use to get unauthorized access to a user account.
- Application Vulnerabilities: Applications on an organization’s system and networks have accounts. Hackers can exploit weaknesses in these accounts to get unauthorized access.
Account Takeovers Prevention
- Strong passwords: Use a password that combines numbers, letters, and special characters. Avoid reusing similar passwords across multiple accounts.
- Update the software and device: Update all your devices’ applications and operating systems with the recent security patches and updates.
- Two-factor authentication: Enable two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security.
- Avoid phishing attempts: Understand how phishing scams work to avoid becoming a victim.
Account Takeover Attack Mitigation
- Zero-trust security approach: A zero-trust security approach prevents attackers from accessing targeted resources or applications, even with compromised credentials. An organization with strict zero-trust policies can detect dubious signals and decline the hijacker’s access request.
- Behavioral analytics approach: Attackers acquire user accounts for malicious purposes, such as stealing data or spreading malware. An organization can detect and respond to an account takeover by continuously monitoring account usage.