139k views
1 vote
Which attack uses one or a small number of commonly used passwords to attempt to log in to several different user accounts?

a. Offline brute force attack
b. Role attack
c. Online brute force attack
d. Password spraying attack

User Jacobz
by
7.1k points

1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

The correct answer is a password spraying attack, which targets multiple user accounts with commonly used passwords in an attempt to gain unauthorized access without triggering account lockout mechanisms.

Step-by-step explanation:

The attack that uses one or a small number of commonly used passwords to attempt to log in to several different user accounts is known as a password spraying attack. Unlike other forms of attacks that target one user account at a time, password spraying aims to bypass account lockout policies that are triggered by multiple failed login attempts.

In contrast, an offline brute force attack involves attempting to guess passwords without directly interacting with the system's authentication processes. A role attack is not a recognized term in cybersecurity practice. An online brute force attack involves systematically trying every possible combination of passwords for one specific account.

Password spraying is relatively stealthy because it spreads out the login attempts across many accounts, using the most common passwords, which increases the chance of gaining unauthorized access without alerting security mechanisms.

User Nakeer
by
8.1k points