You might be exposed to any of the following popular brute force methods: Types of Brute Force AttacksĮach brute force attack can use different methods to uncover your sensitive data. This might include text, images, and audio of a violent, pornographic, or racially offensive nature. If you run a website and become a target of vandalism, a cybercriminal might decide to infest your site with obscene content. If you don’t have an antivirus system, you may be more at risk of infection. Malware can infiltrate your computer, mobile device, or online accounts for spam phishing, enhanced brute force attacks and more. When one machine isn’t enough, hackers enlist an army of unsuspecting devices called a botnet to speed up their efforts. Hijacking your system for malicious activity. Alternatively, they may directly infect a site with concealed malware to be installed on visitor’s computers. If a hacker wants to cause trouble or practice their skills, they might redirect a website’s traffic to malicious sites. Spreading malware to cause disruptions for the sake of it. Sometimes, sensitive databases from entire organizations can be exposed in corporate-level data breaches. All it takes is the right break-in for a criminal to steal your identity, money, or sell your private credentials for profit. Data is sold to advertisers without your consent to help them improve their marketing.īreaking into online accounts can be like cracking open a bank vault: everything from bank accounts to tax information can be found online.