Password spraying is a type of account takeover (ATO) attack in which cybercriminals test one or a small number of commonly used passwords against a large number of user accounts.
Password spraying attacks frequently target environments where organizations assign default passwords to new user accounts or fail to enforce password changes after account creation. Cloud-based services and Single Sign-On platforms are also common targets because they provide centralized access to multiple applications and systems through a single set of credentials.
Although password spraying is a relatively simple attack technique, it remains highly effective and is routinely used by cybercriminal and nation-state threat groups. Its ability to evade traditional account lockout mechanisms makes it a popular method for gaining initial access to enterprise environments.
Password Spraying vs. Brute Force
Password spraying and brute-force attacks both involve attackers trying to guess passwords, but they work in very different ways. In a password spraying attack, the attacker tries a small number of commonly used passwords against a large number of accounts. By limiting the number of attempts on each account, attackers can avoid triggering account lockout policies, making the attack much harder to detect. Password spraying primarily succeeds because many users still rely on weak or commonly used passwords.
