In recent years, the proliferation of compromised credentials on various platforms has reached alarming levels, affecting organizations globally. Reports indicate that these credentials are frequently found on the dark web, clear web, paste sites, or in data dumps shared among cybercriminals. Such information is often exploited for account takeover attacks, leading to security breaches, ransomware incidents, and data theft.
Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are increasingly aware of the escalating threats to identity and have access to numerous tools designed to mitigate risk. However, existing strategies have shown limited effectiveness in addressing the growing crisis. The 2022 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report emphasizes this concern, revealing that over 60% of breaches involve compromised credentials.
Attackers employ various methods such as social engineering, brute force techniques, and purchasing stolen credentials from the dark web to gain unauthorized access to organizational systems. Furthermore, the ease of exploiting shared password habits among users increases the vulnerability of organizations. Employees often reuse passwords or adopt similar patterns across different accounts, which makes it easier for adversaries to compromise multiple accounts within the same organization.
This situation poses a serious challenge, as attackers only need a single match to gain entry. Given the current threat landscape, it is crucial for organizations to analyze what vulnerabilities exist from the perspective of these adversaries.
To effectively mitigate the risk of credential exposure, organizations should undertake several key steps. First, they need to gather data on leaked credentials from various sources, both on the open and dark web. This will provide an initial assessment of the potential risks and identify specific credentials that require updating.
Next, security teams must analyze this data to pinpoint credentials that could lead to security breaches. This involves checking username and password combinations against the organization’s externally facing assets and attempting to crack hashed passwords. They should also validate matches between leaked credentials and identity management tools, like Active Directory, while manipulating the data to uncover additional compromised identities through common password patterns.
Once validated, organizations must take actions to minimize credential exposures. This could involve deleting inactive accounts and initiating password changes for active users. It’s also important for security teams to reevaluate existing security processes, especially if a large number of leaked credentials are discovered.
With the rapidly changing threat landscape, organizations cannot afford to treat credential validation as a one-time effort. Continuous monitoring and automation of this process are essential to effectively manage the ongoing threat posed by credential exposure. Automation can enhance efficiency, helping security teams validate and secure credentials regularly.
Tools like Pentera can aid organizations by simulating attacker methodologies to exploit leaked credentials internally and externally. By providing insights into complete attack paths and actionable remediation strategies, Pentera equips businesses with the ability to strengthen their security posture. For more information on how Pentera can assist in reducing the risk of credential exposure, firms are encouraged to request a demo.
