As security professionals, it is easy to get caught up in a race to counter the most recent superior adversary methods. But probably the most impactful assaults usually aren’t from cutting-edge exploits, however from cracked credentials and compromised accounts. Regardless of widespread consciousness of this risk vector, Picus Safety’s Blue Report 2025 exhibits that organizations proceed to wrestle with stopping password cracking assaults and detecting the malicious use of compromised accounts.
With the primary half of 2025 behind us, compromised legitimate accounts stay probably the most underprevented assault vector, highlighting the pressing want for a proactive method targeted on the threats which can be evading organizations’ defenses.
A Wake-Up Name: The Alarming Rise in Password Cracking Success
The Picus Blue Report is an annual analysis publication that analyzes how nicely organizations are stopping and detecting real-world cyber threats. In contrast to conventional stories that focus solely on risk tendencies or survey knowledge, the Blue Report is predicated on empirical findings from over 160 million assault simulations performed inside organizations’ networks all over the world, utilizing the Picus Safety Validation Platform.
Within the Blue Report 2025, Picus Labs discovered that password cracking makes an attempt succeeded in 46% of examined environments, practically doubling the success price from final yr. This sharp enhance highlights a basic weak point in how organizations are managing – or mismanaging – their password insurance policies. Weak passwords and outdated hashing algorithms proceed to depart essential techniques weak to attackers utilizing brute-force or rainbow desk assaults to crack passwords and achieve unauthorized entry.
Provided that password cracking is likely one of the oldest and most reliably efficient assault strategies, this discovering factors to a severe problem: of their race to fight the most recent, most refined new breed of threats, many organizations are failing to implement sturdy primary password hygiene insurance policies whereas failing to undertake and combine fashionable authentication practices into their defenses.
Why Organizations Are Failing to Forestall Password Cracking Attacks
So, why are organizations nonetheless failing to stop password cracking assaults? The foundation trigger lies within the continued use of weak passwords and outdated credential storage strategies. Many organizations nonetheless depend on simply guessable passwords and weak hashing algorithms, usually with out utilizing correct salting methods or multi-factor authentication (MFA).
In reality, our survey outcomes confirmed that 46% of environments had at the very least one password hash cracked and transformed to cleartext, highlighting the inadequacy of many password insurance policies, notably for inside accounts, the place controls are sometimes extra lax than they’re for his or her exterior counterparts.
To fight this, organizations should implement stronger password insurance policies, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all customers, and usually validate their credential defenses. With out these enhancements, attackers will proceed to compromise legitimate accounts, acquiring easy accessibility to essential techniques.
Credential-Primarily based Attacks: A Silent however Devastating Risk
The specter of credential abuse is each pervasive and harmful, but because the Blue Report 2025 highlights, organizations are nonetheless underprepared for this type of assault. And as soon as attackers acquire legitimate credentials, they’ll simply transfer laterally, escalate privileges, and compromise essential techniques.
Infostealers and ransomware teams incessantly depend on stolen credentials to unfold throughout networks, burrowing deeper and deeper, usually with out triggering detection. This stealthy motion inside the community permits attackers to keep lengthy dwell instances, undetected, whereas they exfiltrate knowledge at will.
Regardless of this ongoing and well-known problem, organizations proceed to prioritize perimeter defenses, usually leaving identification and credential safety missed and under-funded in consequence. This yr’s Blue Report clearly exhibits that legitimate account abuse is on the core of contemporary cyberattacks, reinforcing the pressing want for a stronger deal with identification security and credential validation.
Legitimate Accounts (T1078): The Most Exploited Path to Compromise
One of many key findings within the Blue Report 2025 is that Legitimate Accounts (MITRE ATT&CK T1078) stays the most exploited assault method, with a very regarding 98% success price. Because of this as soon as attackers achieve entry to legitimate credentials, whether or not by way of password cracking or preliminary entry brokers, they’ll swiftly transfer by way of a company’s community, usually bypassing conventional defenses.
The usage of compromised credentials is especially efficient as a result of it permits attackers to function below the radar, making it more durable for security groups to detect malicious exercise. As soon as inside, they’ll entry delicate knowledge, deploy malware, or create new assault paths, all whereas seamlessly mixing in with authentic consumer exercise.
Learn how to Strengthen Your Defenses In opposition to Credential Abuse and Password Cracking
To guard in opposition to more and more efficient assaults, organizations ought to implement stronger password insurance policies and implement complexity necessities, whereas eliminating outdated hashing algorithms in favor of safer options. It’s also important to undertake multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all delicate accounts, guaranteeing that even when credentials do grow to be compromised, attackers cannot simply use them to entry the community with out a further verification step.
Repeatedly validating credential defenses by way of simulated assaults is essential to figuring out vulnerabilities and guaranteeing that your controls are performing as anticipated. Organizations additionally must improve their behavioral detection capabilities to catch anomalous actions tied to credential abuse and lateral motion.
Moreover, monitoring and inspecting outbound site visitors for indicators of knowledge exfiltration and guaranteeing that knowledge loss prevention (DLP) measures are each in place and working successfully are essential to defending your delicate data.
Closing the Gaps in Credential and Password Administration
The findings within the Blue Report 2025 present that, sadly, many organizations are nonetheless weak to the silent risk of password cracking and compromised accounts. And whereas strengthening perimeter defenses continues to be a precedence, it is also clear that core weaknesses lie in credential administration and inside controls. The report additionally highlighted the truth that infostealers and ransomware teams are leveraging these gaps successfully.
When you’re able to take proactive steps to harden your security posture, cut back your publicity, and prioritize your essential vulnerabilities, the Blue Report 2025 provides invaluable insights to point out you the place to focus. And at Picus Safety, we’re all the time blissful to speak about serving to your group meet its particular security wants..
Do not forget to get your copy of The Blue Report 2025 and take proactive steps in the present day to enhance your security posture.
