What is account takeover?

When a malicious party gains control of or access to a legitimate user's account, this is called an account takeover attack. After reading this article you will be able to: Related Content Subscribe to theNET, Cloudflare's monthly recap of the Internet's most popular insights! Copy article link The average person has dozens of online accounts needed for access to both personal and business websites, applications, and systems. Account takeover attacks (as the name suggests) attempt to gain access to those accounts, allowing the attacker to steal data, deliver malware, or use the account’s legitimate access and permissions for other malicious purposes. For an account takeover attack to occur, the attacker needs access to the target account's authentication information — such as a username and password combination. Attackers can obtain this information in various ways, including: A successful account takeover attack grants the attacker the same access and permissions as the legitimate account owner. With this access, an attacker can take various actions, such as: Organizations can take several steps to prevent account takeover and minimize the impact of these attacks. Defense-in-depth is the best approach to take when addressing the risks of account takeover attacks. Account takeover attacks commonly take advantage of poor account security practices. Some defenses that companies can put into place to prevent account takeover attacks include: Account takeover prevention is important to managing the risk of account takeover attacks, but it may not always be effective. For example, a phishing attack on a user's personal email account may leak login credentials that allow an attacker to log in to that same user's corporate account. In addition to the prevention strategies listed above, organizations can minimize the harm caused by these attacks using the following approaches: Cloudflare Zero Trust enables organizations to allow remote access to applications and systems while managing the risk of account takeover attacks. With Zero Trust network access (ZTNA), users are permitted access to specific resources only after verifying their identity, context, and compliance with corporate policy. Account takeover occurs when cybercriminals gain unauthorized access to user accounts through stolen credentials or security vulnerabilities. Attackers typically obtain login information through phishing, data breaches, or credential stuffing attacks. Businesses experiencing ATOs face financial losses, damage to their reputation, and potential regulatory penalties. If customers lose trust in a victimized business's brand as a result, this can lead to long-term revenue impacts beyond the immediate fraud losses. In a credential stuffing attack, automated bots test stolen username/password combinations across multiple websites to exploit password reuse habits. These automated attacks can initiate millions of login attempts per day, making them efficient tools for mass account compromise. Any credentials that work for a given account allow the attacker behind the bots to take over that account. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) serves as a critical defense layer by requiring additional verification beyond passwords. Even if credentials are compromised, MFA significantly reduces successful account takeovers by requiring possession of a physical device or biometric verification. Obtaining such a physical device or the correct biometric data is much more difficult than stealing or purchasing a compromised password. Organizations should use behavioral analytics to identify anomalous login patterns and suspicious activities. Real-time monitoring for unusual access locations, devices, or access times can trigger additional verification before compromise occurs. GETTING STARTED About Access Management About Zero Trust VPN Resources Glossary Learning Center Navigation