What is Dictionary Attack?

A Dictionary Attack is a way or technique used to breach the COMPUter SECurity of a Password-blanketed sySTEM or Server. A dictionary attack attempts to defeat an Authentication mechanism by systematically coming into every word in a dictionary as a password or looking to decide the Decryption key of an encrypted message or document.

Dictionary assaults are often a hit because many users and agencies use ordinary words as passwords. These normal phrases are without difficulty found in a dictionary, along with an English dictionary.

What Does Dictionary Attack Mean?

The maximum not unusual Method of authenticating a person in a Laptop gadget is thru a password. This technique may additionally maintain for numerous extra decades due to the fact it is the most convenient and practical manner of authenticating customers. However, this is also the weakest Form of authentication, due to the fact customers regularly use everyday phrases as passwords. Antagonistic customers which includes Hackers and Spammers take benefit of this weakness by means of the use of a dictionary assault. Hackers and spammers try to log in to a laptop Device by means of trying all viable passwords until the precise one is Discovered.

Two Countermeasures against dictionary attacks encompass:

1. Delayed Response: A barely delayed reaction from the server prEvents a hacker or spammer from checking multiple passwords inside a quick time period.
2. Account Locking: Locking an account after numerous unsuccessful tries (as an example, automated locking after three or five unsuccessful tries) prevents a hacker or spammer from checking a couple of passwords to log in.

Dictionary attacks aren't powerful towards systems that Make use of a couple of-word passwords, and additionally Fail in opposition to systems that use random permutations of lowercase and uppercase letters mixed with numerals.