What is Password Spraying and How to Stop It?

Cybercriminals are always on the move trying to find easy ways of getting into the systems of businesses. Recently, one common attack method that is used by these threat actors is password spraying. Alarmingly, this usually goes unnoticed. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), it is important to know: What are password spraying, and how to stop it? Let us take a deep dive into what password spraying is, why and how it works, and what you and your team can do to defend your company from this. Additionally, below are some practical tips and security tools, shared by EB Solution, to make your business secure. 

What is Password Spraying and How to Stop It

What are Password Spraying?

So, what are password spraying, and how to stop it? Password spraying is a type of brute-force attack. This means it is a series of trial and error applied to a lot of systems and seeing which ones are weak enough to get infiltrated. In password spraying, instead of using multiple passwords to one account, these attackers will use only a small number of popular passwords and use it to try opening a large number of accounts. Passwords such as “Password123”, or “Welcome2025” are examples of these and will be tested on numerous user logins. The trick there is they do not attempt to open accounts repeatedly so as not to send out any alerts. What makes this dangerous is that it attacks several accounts simultaneously and takes advantage of poor or repeated passwords. Moreover, as mentioned, it cannot be detected easily with simpler security mechanisms. 

Why Is Password Spraying Effective?

Hackers are aware that most users use weak passwords and so they take advantage of this. They know full well that most users tend to repeat passwords that they are familiar with, sometimes despite strict password policies. Common examples include adding “123!” or “!” or passwords that include the company name or birth year. Moreover, using the same password on personal and workspace accounts is also a common practice. Hence, by hacking just a single account, hackers could obtain valuable company data. That is why every one in the team, not just the IT guys, must be familiar with and make sure to follow prevention strategies such as credential stuffing defense. 

Why IT Admins of SMBs Should Care

Small and medium-sized businesses are often prime targets for password spraying because they have fewer security resources. Unfortunately, because of the size and resources, one breach may result in catastrophe. This may include loss of customer trust as well as legal and regulatory fines. This is in addition to the cost associated with the downtime, emergency IT intervention, and data recovery. On the other hand, this kind of attack is cheap for the hackers. Therefore, company IT admins, management and executive boards should ensure that proactive defense strategies are in place and working. This includes emphasizing MFA importance, heeding password manager tips and partnering with reliable providers such as EB Solution password services.

Be Invulnerable to Password Spraying

Although you may not stop password spraying, you and your team can implore measures to make your system invulnerable to it. This does not require too complicated preventive measures but are, rather, practical steps to take. 

Enforce and Follow Through Strong Password Policies

Simple and easy-to-memorize passwords may be convenient but are very risky. Therefore, as a company, there must be a strong password policy in place. This should include qualifiers such as having a minimum of 12 characters, with a combination of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Moreover, there should be no personal use of information when creating the password. More importantly, it must be emphasized that these password policies are not just strictly enforced but also have a constant follow through. Additionally, this must be applied to everyone from staff to executives.

Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

MFA importance cannot be overstated. In case the attacker happens to guess the password, there is one more layer with MFA. Blocked/hacked logins can be prevented via one-time password or biometric identification.

Use a Password Manager

Password managers assist them in generating and storing strong passwords. This discourages the use of weak ones. Password manager tips include educating and training staff on how to use them safely. This also includes selecting a manager that encrypts all stored credentials. These password manager tips need to be taken seriously instead of skipping. 

Monitor for Unusual Login Activity

Invest in facilities that identify suspicious login. This includes multiple attempts from different locations. Continuous monitoring helps spot password spraying early on hence initiating credential stuffing defense is imperative. 

Educate Your Team

The major key is awareness. Train staff to be able to identify phishing attacks and work using the best security practices. The first line of defense is a knowledgeable workforce knowing MFA importance, heeding password manager tips and then imploring credential stuffing defense. 

Advanced Measures for IT Admins

IT admins, managers, and executives of SMBs must work with trusted providers such as EB Solution password services for better protection. On top of this, you can add geo-blocking or restricting log-ins to a specific geography and automated lockouts where the system notices suspicious activities and locks out. Frequent password security and user account audit are also necessary. Some companies who rely on EB Solution password services, this trusted provider combine proactive monitoring, MFA integration, and staff training to create layered security.

The Role of Professional Security Services

Collaboration with cybersecurity specialists can help SMB prevent risks successfully. Providers such as EB Solution provide constant check on anomalous logins as well as available support, if needed. Additionally, there are also tools to defend against password spraying and credential stuffing defense. Moreover, continuous security awareness among employees is also ensured through training. Outsourcing some of your security can be very cost-effective. It offers experience that the IT departments of SMBs might lack.

Stay Ahead of the Threat

Now that we know what are password spraying, and how to stop it? We must understand that password spraying is not going away. Attackers will continue to take advantage when users keep having weak passwords. However, a combination of powerful passwords, multi-factor authentication, the use of password managers, and password monitoring can go a long way to reducing this risk. Moreover, partnering up with experts such as EB Solution, can keep your organization safe from password spraying and other credential-based attacks. 

Start securing your business today and call us now!