What is a brute force attack?

A brute force attack is defined as a method that tries many different combinations of characters in an attempt to gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or accounts. This type of attack systematically checks all possible passwords or encryption keys until the correct one is found. Because brute force attacks don't rely on any knowledge of the user's password or any other social engineering tactics, they can be directed at systems with weak password policies, allowing the attacker to eventually guess the correct password through persistence.

This approach contrasts with more specialized attacks, like a dictionary attack, which utilizes a pre-computed list of common passwords and phrases. Although they share similarities, brute force attacks differ significantly as they are not limited by a specific set of words or phrases but rather explore every possible combination, especially for shorter and less complex passwords.

In terms of password retrieval methods, techniques such as hashing and salting are often employed to protect password data from these types of attacks. While stored passwords can be accessed through other means, a brute force attack specifically refers to the method of guessing passwords rather than directly retrieving stored values.