Modern technologies help combat credential theft
Networks, systems, applications, and web services are accessed using login credentials given to authorized users. These login credentials include usernames, passwords, email addresses, and other information used to verify one’s identity and access privilege. This is the reason why hackers and cybercriminals are so eager to get such valuable pieces of information, as doing so enables them to gain access to user accounts, sneak into networks and systems, and launch attacks.
Perhaps you’re quite familiar with credential stuffing. This is a sophisticated type of cyberattack in which large lists of leaked or stolen credentials are automatically tested and injected into different websites by attackers using automated programs, leading to compromised user accounts and successful data breaches.
Organizations in retail, media, entertainment, and gaming industries are mostly targeted by perpetrators of credential stuffing according to a report released by Akamai entitled “Credential Stuffing: Attacks And Economies.” The report revealed that in 2018, credential stuffing attackers made almost 30 billion login attempts on entertainment and video media websites and web services alone.
Highly advanced and sophisticated authentication attacks like credential stuffing fueled many businesses to harness the power of technology so they can protect their organization from these attacks. They are adopting and implementing cyber security software tools that are built with machine learning capabilities to simplify the way they execute their security processes, specifically those related to authentication.
1. Applying Risk-Based Authentication
Organizations are employing various methods to verify the identities and access privileges of people who are interacting with their IT assets. One of which is the application of multi-factor authentication techniques wherein end-users that are logging into networks, systems, applications, and websites need to provide information other than their password.
However, traditional multi-factor authentication techniques are not convenient for employees and customers since they have to submit the same information and perform the same procedures or steps every time they log in, thereby requiring them to exert much time and effort.
Fortunately, machine learning capabilities are now incorporated into some modern security tools which enable organizations to implement simplified, efficient, and painless authentication processes without compromising the security of their essential IT assets. They are now given the ability to easily implement risk-based authentication methods.
But what is a risk-based authentication method, anyway? This is a revolutionary approach to user authentication in which login attempts are evaluated based on the security risk they pose to the systems and other IT assets being accessed. Leveraging machine learning, a security software understands and analyzes how end-users are usually logging into systems, behaving online, accessing resources and information, and completing transactions.
Then, it generates user profiles that contain important pieces of information about the end-users who are logging in, such as how they are connecting to a network, what devices they are using for logging in and accessing applications and from which locations, and even how fast they type in the information. The security software checks login attempts against these information and measures how risky they are, applying the appropriate authentication procedure and technique depending on the risk associated with each login attempt.
For instance, end-users are required to submit additional credentials if they are logging in from unknown devices at times different from their normal login schedules, as such login attempts are high risk. On the other hand, those end-users whose login attempts are consistent with their user profile information are granted access right away without going through multi-factor authentication steps.
2. Combatting Authentication Attacks
Hackers and cybercriminals are exploiting the vulnerabilities of organizations’ authentication processes to gain access to corporate resources and information and perpetrate further attacks that can disrupt business operations and transactions and cause financial losses. For example, a lot of organizations are still relying on password-based authentication when it comes to securing and granting access to their systems.
However, hackers and cybercriminals are resourceful and brilliant enough in such a way that they were able to discover ways of capturing and reusing usernames and passwords, combining both traditional and modern techniques like brute-forcing,phishing, and credential stuffing.
Let’s take the case of Basecamp, a leading provider of web applications for project management and team communication, as an example of credential stuffing. Credential stuffing is a type of brute force attack wherein login credentials obtained from breaching certain systems are tested against other systems. This attack can be very effective, given the fact that end-users have the tendency to use the same passwords for different services or systems they are logging into.
In January 2019, 30,000 attempts to gain access to Basecamp’s user accounts were made in just an hour based on the report published by the web app firm on Signal v. Noise, its official blog site. According to Basecamp, the credentials used for these login attempts were probably collected from data dumps like Collections #1, a database of leaked usernames and passwords.
To combat authentication attacks such as credential stuffing, the best security software gathers threat intelligence from trusted and reliable sources. It leverages information related to existing and emerging authentication attacks to detect suspicious and malicious login attempts. The software can immediately pinpoint blacklisted IP addresses and block requests originating from those IP addresses.
3. Providing Easy Access to Security Information
If you want to formulate and implement effective plans and strategies for IT security, you should get security information and details when you need them most. Security software solutions are equipped with features that allow you to quickly access information about your authentication processes, accelerating data collection and analysis for investigations, keeping your end-users updated, and helping you improve your organization’s security posture.
These solutions let you access information from dashboards. Let’s say you want to find out who among your end-users are making the highest number of high-risk login attempts or which deviations from user profiles pose a higher risk. The dashboards provide you with the exact information you need.
You can also send out email alerts to your end-users to notify them about login attempts. These alerts show information which includes the device, location, IP address, and login time. This way, they will be able to confirm if they are the ones who made those attempts or take any required actions for proving their identity.
4. Simplifying Authentication Policy Management
Adopting a security software for business gives you the opportunity to set and enforce your own authentication policies. These policies define what you should do with each login attempt based on its risk score or rating calculated and assigned by the software.
For example, login attempts that are perceived as less risky are immediately approved because there’s a small chance that these attempts will lead to security breaches. On the other hand, you’ll be able to reject login attempts that will most likely expose your employees and customers to cybersecurity attacks.
5. Allowing Smooth Integrations
Security tools can be integrated with supported web services, websites, and enterprise solutions. This is made possible through the use of REST APIs, webhooks, and plugins/extensions, enabling multiple systems to interact and exchange information with each other smoothly.
If you’re using Red Hat’s single sign-on solution for managing user identity and access, you can actually connect it with a security tool optimized for protecting user identities and assessing access risks. This makes it possible for the single sign-on (SSO) solution to transmit information about login attempts and events to the security tool in real-time.
The security tool, in return, processes the information and relays to the SSO solution what it needs to do with those login attempts. This means the solution can approve or reject an access request, prompt the end-users to further verify their identity using two-factor or multifactor authentication, or send notifications to IT admins and account owners.
A Simple Way To Secure Authentication Processes
Hackers and cybercriminals infiltrate networks and systems because they can look for entry points that are not protected well. They are able to guess passwords, access breached login credentials and test them against multiple online systems, and perform other attacks to gain access to IT assets.
However, through the aid of technology, organizations and businesses can combat these authentication attacks, no matter how sophisticated they are. They are given the opportunity to leverage security tools that allow them to employ risk-based authentication techniques without breaking a sweat. Such tools are powered by machine learning algorithms, allowing the tools to analyze users’ online behaviors and attributes and determine the risk associated with each login attempt.
The tools enable them to shift their attention from choosing antimalware and antivirus to adopting identity and access risk management solutions. By securing their authentication processes, attackers won’t find ways to access their systems and deploy malicious programs.