All you need to know about the account takeover attacks and how to deal with them

In the last few years, the digital landscape has already had a remarkable incidence of cyber threats happening with every passing day which is the main reason that focusing on the element of application security is very much important. According to recent data from the House of experts at Appsealing, there has been a consistent surge in account takeover attacks with a remarkable increase of more than 350% by the year 2023.

To further get the best possible clear perspective on such options it is very important for people to understand the account takeover attack in depth and how to avoid it.

What do you mean by an account takeover attack? 

An account takeover attack will happen when the malicious actor gets unauthorized access to the user’s online account without their permission.

Unauthorized accessibility to the login credentials will be very commonly achieved by maliciously enquiring about user login information through deceptive methods including key logging and taking advantage of the data breach. The motives will range from seeking profit through theft or indulging in any kind of simple fraudulent activity by creating chaos or damaging the reputation of the user.

Also check: Features of Attack Surface Management

What type of businesses are affected by the account takeover attacks?

1. Media and entertainment industry: Particularly the music and video streaming services will be currently experiencing a notable increase in account takeover attacks because the cyber criminals in this case are taking advantage of the widespread popularity of the platforms to carry out malicious activities. The primary objective in this particular case will be to illegally obtain the login credentials with a particular focus on belonging to the premium subscribers. Credentials later on will be sold at a very low price which will enable unauthorised individuals to access the premium content without paying the rightful price. This will lead to significant revenue and reputational loss for the organization.
2. Financial industry: Financial institutions like insurance companies and banks are also very much susceptible to account takeover attacks because the criminals in this case will be using a good range of techniques from the theft of credentials to the detailed schemes of accessing the account accounts illegally. Users in this particular case will be seemingly receiving a genuine email from the bank asking to confirm the account details which further will lead to the spoofing of the login credentials and eventually lead to significant losses for the companies.
3. Hospitality industry: The hospitality industry including resorts, hotels, and other establishments will be facing significant challenges to the account takeover attacks. Cybercriminals in this case will frequently focus on loyalty and reward programs to deal with the points and balances very easily and subsequently exploit them. This will lead to significant issues with the reputation of the brand as well as the customer loyalty benefits. The accumulated reward points in this particular case could be a very problematic scheme that people can get into. 
4. Sports industry: The sports industry will have a significant amount of sensitivity that you need to protect because the athlete contracts, medical records, and other associated things could be very much prone to the account to take over attacks. Cyber criminals in this particular case will be exploiting any kind of challenge to get the accessibility to valuable pieces of information with the intention of selling it or illegally using it for malicious purposes. 
5. Retail industry: The retail industry is also consistently undergoing a significant number of challenges due to account takeover attacks because the unauthorized accessibility in this case will enable people to participate in fraudulent activities like placing an order for merchandise, purchasing a gift card, and exploiting the reward points. Shoppers in this case will be finding the unauthorized purchases on the account and further that will lead to a significant number of issues. 
6. Gaming industry: Gaming platforms over here will be leading to extensive user bases as well as multiple transactions that will be highly susceptible to account takeover attacks. Cyber criminals in this case will be exploiting the platforms to have access accessibility to the payment details and other associated options which will be manipulating the compromised accounts in terms of deceiving the players. 

Some of the most important tips to deal with account takeover attacks have been very well explained as follows: 

1. Generally, it is very much recommended that people take the element of security login very seriously so that they can actively get things done and further will be able to streamline the credentials. Additionally, it is recommended to conduct a regular review of the existing database so that notifications can be easily sent to the concerned people. 
2. Device recognition is another very important aspect to be taken very seriously because this is known by the name of fingerprinting which is an effective tool and dealing with account takeover. This will be helpful in providing people with requesting the additional authentication steps so that things are very well sorted out. 
3. Implementing the restriction on the login attempt is very important to be taken into account so that careful analysis will be taken care of and there will be no chance of any kind of problem. By adopting this approach everybody will be able to significantly deal with things very easily. 
4. Real-time threat monitoring is another very important aspect to be paid attention to so the dynamic feed will be taken care of and everyone will be able to observe the number of hacking attempts very easily. This will provide people with the best possible element of visibility into the real data so that the proactive approach will provide people with the best possible defense against the organization. 

Hence having a clear idea about the account takeover attacks and other associated things related to application security is important for people so that launching of the perfect applications becomes very easy and there will be no scope of any kind of problem. In this way, everyone will be able to directly proceed with the safety of personal and financial data very successfully and further will be able to enjoy the proactive defense without any hassle.