312-50V9 · Question #578
When discussing passwords, what is considered a brute force attack?
The correct answer is A. You attempt every single possibility until you exhaust all possible combinations or discover the. A brute force attack systematically tries every possible character combination until the correct password is found or all possibilities are exhausted. It is distinguished from dictionary or rainbow table attacks by its exhaustive, non-selective nature.
Question
When discussing passwords, what is considered a brute force attack?
Options
- AYou attempt every single possibility until you exhaust all possible combinations or discover the
- BYou threaten to use the rubber hose on someone unless they reveal their password
- CYou load a dictionary of words into your cracking program
- DYou create hashes of a large number of words and compare it with the encrypted passwords
- EYou wait until the password expires
How the community answered
(56 responses)- A93% (52)
- B2% (1)
- C4% (2)
- D2% (1)
Why each option
A brute force attack systematically tries every possible character combination until the correct password is found or all possibilities are exhausted. It is distinguished from dictionary or rainbow table attacks by its exhaustive, non-selective nature.
A brute force attack works by iterating through every conceivable combination of characters - letters, numbers, and symbols - for all possible lengths, guaranteeing eventual success given enough time and computational resources. This exhaustive enumeration is what defines brute force and differentiates it from smarter, targeted approaches like dictionary attacks.
Using physical coercion or threats to extract a password is called rubber hose cryptanalysis, not a brute force attack.
Loading a list of common words or phrases into a cracking tool describes a dictionary attack, which relies on probable candidates rather than exhaustive enumeration.
Pre-computing hashes of many words and comparing them to stored hashes is a rainbow table attack, not a brute force attack.
Waiting for a password to expire is a passive timing strategy with no active cracking involved and is not considered any form of password attack.
Concept tested: Definition and mechanics of brute force attack
Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/authentication/concept-resilience-controls
Topics
Community Discussion
No community discussion yet for this question.