Which of the following password cracking techniques is the attacker trying?

An attacker uses different types of password cracking techniques to crack the password and gain unauthorized access to a system. An attacker uses a file containing a list of commonly used passwords. They then upload this file into the cracking application that runs against the user accounts.

Which of the following password cracking techniques is the attacker trying?
A . Bruteforce
B . Rainbow table
C . Hybrid
D . Dictionary

View Answer

Answer: D

Explanation:

The attacker is employing a Dictionary attack, which is a method where a file containing a list of commonly used passwords is used to attempt to gain unauthorized access to user accounts. This technique relies on the probability that many users will use common passwords that are easy to guess. It is more efficient than a brute-force attack since it uses a predefined list of words, rather than trying all possible combinations of characters.

Reference: The Dictionary attack is defined as a word-based brute force method1, and it is specifically mentioned as a password cracking test that can be automated with tools2. This technique is distinct from the other options because:

A Brute-force attack involves trying all possible combinations of characters until the correct one is found1.

A Rainbow table attack uses precomputed tables of hash values to crack encrypted passwords1. A Hybrid attack combines elements of both brute-force and dictionary attacks, often by adding numbers or symbols to dictionary words2.