Account takeover is on the rise: how to protect yourself
This article from OctaFX security experts explores the nature of account takeover attacks and advises on how to protect yourself from them. Recent research by Digital Shadows showed that more than 24 billion exposed credential pairings are available for sale online. That is a 65 percent increase from 2020, probably due to more sophisticated malware and social engineering, as well as improved credential sharing. With passwords such as ‘123456’ still accounting for more than one hundred million exposed cases, account takeovers are bound to continue. However, there are ways to avoid them, which we will cover later in the article. First, let’s consider whether account takeover (ATO) is something that everyone really has to worry about. Account takeover: how it happens The ATO attacks are somewhat similar to burglary. Fraudsters or hackers either crack your password using special software- just as burglars do to open the doors of a building – or get it from you through social engi...