Passwords are meant to ensure your data privacy in the online world.
But as the internet world advances, attackers are becoming equipped with new tactics to breach your security online.
That’s why we see all the new cybersecurity techniques like biometric authentication. It tells us the loops and flaws password protection possess.
Now with all the AI tools and algorithms, it has become a piece of cake for attackers to crack security passwords in a snap.
Here are the most common ways to crack a password. Beware to protect yourself from cyber-attacks!
How To Crack A Password
The most common way to crack a password is via phishing since it’s always easy to exploit a human than a system.
Many other methods exist to break a password if it’s not possible.
Here, we have compiled a list of 12 common password-cracking techniques you need to know. Let’s get started!
1. Phishing
The most common technique involves convincing the user to click the malicious email or link attachment containing something shady, like a virus or malware.
The emails often look super professional as they are tailored perfectly to trick the users. And then, before you know it, the software automatically downloads into your device to extract all the crucial passwords.
Or nowadays, to make users lure into giving sensitive information, attackers send emails that are more sophisticated (including company signatures, logos, and perfectly curated language).
2. Social Engineering
It is closely related to phishing. In social engineering, the attacker masks himself as a legitimate agent or fake technical support asking for sensitive information like network passwords or codes.
It usually happens offline, and the software is optional to carry out this technique. The victims are trapped easily when the attackers disguise themselves as agents or representatives of giants like Google or Facebook.
3. Spidering
It is the calculated or educated guess. Often victim’s personal information like his DOB, names of family members, company details, social media handles, and residential locations taking into account.
Once all the necessary information is collected; then attackers create a mass list of all the possible words that can be the password. Then the software is run through the information to guess what combination of words could be the victim’s password.
The success rate is usually higher than the other techniques because it includes extensive offline work to know the target more intimately.
4. Guessing
It is the most common and widely used technique. Generally, if a user is a slacker and does not set passcodes properly, his privacy can be easily violated. And attackers don’t have to gather much information to crack the passcode.
Here is the concise list of default passcodes you should NOT set for your accounts, as anyone can guess them easily.
- 123456
- Admin
- Password
- Qwerty123
- Name of your intimate relations, pets, and city in lowercase
5. Rainbow Table Attack
Rainbow tables contain password hashes of all the commonly used or previously cracked passwords. They facilitate hackers in reducing the time taken to crack a password.
Hackers compare the encrypted passwords they may find with the table; if there’s a match, the password is known. There’s no need to break the hash; one can easily guess the password using a similar hash.
Rainbow tables have enormous passwords and hashes, taking up to hundreds of GBs in size and causing difficulty storing. However, they make it simple and fast to attack a password since all the data is pre-computed.
6. Shoulder Surfing
Shoulder surfing is a primitive yet effective way to crack a password. In its simplest meaning, shoulder surfing is when a hacker looks over your shoulder and traces your keystrokes.
It might sound too simple to be true, but it happens. If you are working at a cafe or on a bus, you are at a chance of getting your password stolen. Similarly, a disgruntled employee might crack the boss’ password just by looking over while they type in the code.
If you work from public places often, use tools that cover the laptop display and do not let attackers spy on it.
7. Brute Force Attack
A brute force attack involves a trial-and-error method to guess and try all possible password combinations. It combines all the letters, numbers, characters, and symbols sequentially to generate multiple passwords until it finds the correct one.
Such an attack involves both: common passwords and educated guesses. Passwords like ‘abcdefg123’ or ‘password789′ are easy to guess. Or, if the target user is known, the hacker might try the date of birth, family members’ names, or even favorite food.
Brute force is usually the last resort used by hackers since it can take a long time to guess the right combination.
Nowadays, however, hackers use software to optimize attacks and check multiple combinations quickly. Many brute force tools, like Brutus password cracker, run thousands of combinations in a few hours.
8. Offline Cracking
Online password-cracking attacks are not always safe; they are predisposed to discovery and timeout. Security software can catch them, or the device may lock out due to multiple attempts.
Thus, the hackers transfer all the password hashes offline and take their time to crack them.
With offline cracking, a hacker can not be caught and attempts passwords several times without locking the device. Also, the network’s speed does not affect the cracking attacks.
Offline cracking decrypts passwords from a list of hashes obtained by a recent data breach. It usually needs an initially successful attack that gives hackers access to the database.
9. Dictionary Cracks
A bit different from the brute-force cracks, it uses a dictionary or word list to guess the possible password combination. Word combinations present in dictionaries, spelling variations, and common words in other languages are usually targeted by this attack.
Therefore, it is advised to set a passcode different from a proper word in the dictionary. Phrases of random alphabets with special symbols, characters, and numbers work best. Many users take help from password managers to generate passwords to prevent it.
10. Network Analyzers
A network analyzer is a password-hacking tool that analyzes a data packet sent over a network. Once a packet is analyzed, packet-capturing tools are used to locate the plain text passwords.
Using network analyzers almost always results in a successful attack since they do not rely on exploiting a system’s vulnerability. A person with access to the network switch can install the analyzer on it, or malware can be used to install it.
11. Malware
Naive users accidentally download the malware by clicking the wrong link or download button. Therefore they are more vulnerable to this technique.
The malware sends users’ activity (keystrokes and screenshots) to the attacker. And he can easily track your browser activity or network information.
Some advanced malware attacks sensitive information directly by invading password-managing systems or web browser information.
12. Mask Attack
It is a much more refined guess than the dictionary attack. It uses the technique of using existing information about the victim to make a guess that is more specific rather than using a mass list of words and numbers. It makes the cracking process fast and efficient for the hacker.
This attack uses the given information like gender, age, language, location and other personal details of the victim to create an appropriate mask. Then it checks each possible combination with the given mask until it finds the right one.
These are the most common techniques you can use to crack passwords. Hackers are always looking for new ways to breach security, so it is important to be aware of how they work to protect yourself against them.
Some Common Password-Cracking Tools
Besides cracking techniques and programs, hackers utilize advanced password-hacking tools to make cracking more efficient and fast.
Here are the top password-cracking tools they generally use to invade your online privacy:
1. John The Ripper
Free to use, John the Ripper is the most common password-cracking tool. It is a command-based tool, using command prompts and a wordlist to guess the right password combination.
It can decrypt multiple hash types, from windows and macOS passwords to encrypted keys to disks. John the Ripper is available for MacOS and Linux. You usually need to buy a word list, but free alternatives are also available.
2. Cain And Abel
Where John the Ripper is for advanced users, Cain and Abel is for newbies. It has a user-friendly interface with simple features.
Cain and Abel is a multi-purpose software for sniffing, cracking user accounts’ passwords, analyzing network packets, and recovering Microsoft Access passwords. It is available for Windows only.
3. Ophcrack
Ophcrack is open-source software that works on the technique of Rainbow Table Attacks.
It is an efficient and fast password-cracking tool on MacOS, Windows, and Linux.
Ophcrack mainly cracks LM and NTLM hashes. It also contains a brute force attack feature for common passwords.
4. Hashcat
Using both CPU and GPU simultaneously, Hashcat is the fastest password cracker. It is available on Windows, Linux, and macOS and offers a range of password-hacking techniques.
Hashcat supports over 300 hash types, including MD5, LastPass, SHA3-512, PBKDF2, KeePass, and ChaCha20.
There are hundreds of tools available online for free that attackers generally use.
Every tool has its own set of advantages and limitations. It is sometimes necessary to combine different techniques.
Wrapping Up!
No password in the world cannot be cracked. And as the online world is getting allied with the offline one, passcodes and PINS are now vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Plus, the developed tools have made the task much easier for the hacker.
However, it does not mean you should not protect your privacy online.
Strong passwords containing random phrases, letters, numbers, and symbols are always advisable. Multiple cyber security software is also available to strengthen your privacy protection online.