Understanding and preventing credential stuffing attacks
Stolen Credentials
© Lead Image © peshkov, 123RF.com
A credential stuffing cyberattack uses username and password credentials stolen in a data breach to gain access to your accounts. We explain how it works and how to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.
The good citizens of the Internet are frequently reminded that their passwords should contain a sufficiently complex combination of alphanumeric and special characters and, of course, meet or exceed a minimum length. Confusingly, the precise criteria for both is entirely dependent on which online service you use.
While security is everybody's responsibility, what should you be most concerned about if an online service lets you down and leaks your credentials, either through a malicious attack or simply through incompetence? The answer is twofold.
The first part of the answer depends on whether the online vendor informs you of the data breach straight away. I had my credentials stolen about a decade ago from a website that I had used once (around 2010, I think). The vendor reported the leak to a government department that did not make the breach public for a number of years afterwards, for reasons that I still don't find convincing. When I found out about the breach in 2014, I was horrified and immediately changed my password, eventually getting the vendor to completely close the account. Thankfully, only my name, age, postal address, email address, and order history were exposed, but potentially that's quite enough for identity theft.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.