Account takeover (ATO) attacks are becoming increasingly common and pose a significant threat to companies of all sizes around the world.
This type of scam occurs when criminals gain improper access to corporate accounts and thereby steal sensitive data and execute transactions, compromising the organization's entire security infrastructure.
Given this scenario, many institutions believe that completely avoiding these attacks is impossible. However, with the right strategies, it is possible to significantly mitigate risks.
Want to know how? Keep reading this article and learn more.
How does an Account Takeover attack happen?
To understand how this attack works, it is important to analyze the digital landscape in which we are inserted. Most authentication systems are based on passwords, unfortunately they are not that secure.
This is because many people use the same password for several accounts, which makes them weak and easy to access for criminals.
Don't think that your organization is exempt from this, after all, even a company with strong password policies, if there are no actions to emphasize and make people understand this, accounts can suffer attacks.
With this in mind, know that account takeover, also known as Account Takeover (ATO), occurs when criminals manage to illegally access accounts of people or companies.
This attack can be carried out through different methods, such as:
Use of leaked or stolen credentials;
Phishing attacks;
Social engineering;
Brute force.
The great risk of these actions is that by obtaining the credentials, the attacker takes full control of the account, changing passwords, email addresses, and other security settings, making it almost impossible for the victim to regain access.
One of the most common ways to obtain these credentials is password exploitation, as we mentioned.
In addition, fake emails and links, created to deceive victims, are widely used in phishing attacks, where the criminal pretends to be a trusted entity, tricking the person into providing their personal information.
Importantly, the impact of these attacks is devastating for both people and organizations.
After all, once in control of the account, the criminal can carry out transactions, steal sensitive information, compromise financial data, and even damage the reputation of the company or individual.
What makes Account Takeovers so dangerous?
Account Takeovers represent a cyber threat that goes beyond simple data theft.
These attacks compromise digital trust, as criminals assume legitimate identities to defraud systems and manipulate sensitive information, undermining the integrity of entire networks.
In addition, the interconnection of modern systems amplifies the impact of these attacks, because a single compromised account can serve as a gateway to access multiple critical services and data.
Due to this connection between systems, attackers are able to move laterally and cause significant damage, making it increasingly difficult to detect and prevent.
After all, by acting as authorized users, attackers can manipulate internal processes and obtain sensitive information without arousing suspicion.
How to protect yourself from Account Takeover?
Account takeovers are often difficult to detect, because people's credentials can be compromised in an area of the company where there is not as much visibility.
In addition, in an organization with a lot of employees where they often work remotely or even in another country, this identification can be even more difficult.
Thus, it is essential that the institution implements security measures that help mitigate the risks related to these attacks.
Below, we highlight three essential measures that can be adopted to strengthen security against this type of attack.
Implement multifactor authentication (MFA)
As we said throughout this text, many breaches occur due to the use of weak passwords. In this way, multifactor authentication (MFA) is one of the most effective defenses against account takeover, as it adds an extra layer of security beyond the password.
Therefore, organizations not only rely on a password, which can be easily compromised, but in fact implement a layer of protection, after all, MFA requires the user to provide two or more forms of verification.
This includes something that the user already knows such as their own password, plus something they have such as a code sent by SMS or generated by an authentication app, or even biometrics.
By implementing MFA, organizations greatly reduce the chances of an attacker being able to break into an account, since even if they obtain the password, they will still need a second factor to complete access.
Monitor suspicious behavior
In addition to using multifactor authentication, which is very important to prevent these attacks, organizations need to invest in monitoring and detection systems to identify abnormal behaviors.
By monitoring these behaviors, companies can identify patterns that may indicate Account Takeover attempts.
This includes analyzing login patterns, such as access from different geographic locations or the use of unknown devices.
Tools based on artificial intelligence and machine learning are highly effective in this regard, as they can identify deviations in user behavior patterns.
With this, when these suspicious activities are detected, the organization can immediately block access to the account, request additional authentication, or even alert the person, ensuring that corrective measures are taken.
Educating people by promoting safe practices
Technologies are important, but they need to be complemented by awareness actions, after all, the targets of these attacks are people, and they need to know how to identify and defend themselves from these threats.
Therefore, ongoing cybersecurity education is critical to protecting against Account Takeover attacks. People should be trained to recognize signs of phishing and other fraud attempts, such as fake emails or suspicious links.
Additionally, it's important to reinforce the practice of strong passwords, avoid reusing credentials across multiple platforms, and adopt password managers to ensure that passwords are unique and difficult to access.
Another important point is that periodically, organizations should promote awareness campaigns about the importance of security and encourage regular access updates, creating a culture of security.
How to protect yourself from Account Takeover with PhishX?
Account Takeover poses a significant risk to organizations, allowing criminals to access sensitive information and compromise the security of the entire company.
However, mitigating this type of threat is possible with a structured approach focused on awareness, monitoring, and access protection.
PhishX, as an ecosystem specialized in security and digital awareness, offers solutions that help companies protect themselves against these attacks, acting on several fronts to reduce risks and strengthen organizational security.
One of the main ways to defend against Account Takeover is the continuous education of people, as many attacks start through phishing, social engineering, and insecure access.
The PhishX Awareness Platform allows you to create custom campaigns to simulate real attacks and train employees to recognize credential theft attempts.
With threat intelligence-based models, businesses can identify vulnerabilities, remediate risky behavior, and ensure that their team is prepared to deal with real attacks.
In addition, PhishX assists in identifying and responding to threats in real-time through PhishX Assistant, a tool that allows users to query and report suspicious emails, links, and messages directly for safe analysis.
Another main point of this process is awareness. Our platform offers a library full of educational materials ranging from secure access to how to protect yourself from attacks.
Combining training, technology, and threat intelligence, PhishX empowers organizations to dramatically reduce the risk of account takeover and strengthen their digital security posture.
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