What is Account Takeover ATO? A Detailed Guide

Account Takeover (ATO) refers to a type of cyberattack where an attacker gains unauthorized access to a user's legitimate account. This can happen on different websites like social media, email, banking, and other online services. It's a form of identity theft but with a specific focus on digital accounts.

The process of ATO typically involves the following steps: First, the attacker steals or obtains the user's login credentials. This involves various vicious means, such as phishing attacks, social engineering and so on. Next, with the stolen credentials, the attacker gains unauthorized access to the user's account. Then he takes control of the account's functionalities.

Then, the attacker may engage in activities, such as stealing sensitive information and sending phishing messages. In some cases, the attacker makes unauthorized transactions, or uses the account for further attacks.

Account Takeover Fraud Statistics in a Glance

The recent statistics reflect the growing threat of ATO attacks in recent years.

• Research by Sift's Q3 2023 Digital Safety and Trust Index indicates a staggering 354% increase in ATO attacks compared to 2022.
• The same report highlights that ATO continues to be an ecommerce fraud that threatens online marketplaces, increasing by 131% in the second half of 2022.
• The AARP & Javelin Fraud Study (2024) estimates that Account Takeover (ATO) fraud cost Americans nearly $43 billion in losses in 2023.
• In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported the losses of impostor scams which are mostly facilitated by ATO fraud, at $2.67 billion.

How do Account Takeover Attacks Occur?

Account takeover (ATO) attacks manifest through various methods. These can be classified based on the vulnerabilities exploited in security systems or human behaviour. Some of the common ways include:

• Phishing: Attackers trick people with fake emails, messages, or websites that look real. They include links or files that, when clicked, ask for login details on fake pages. The attackers use this to steal login information and get into accounts without permission.
• Credential Stuffing: Attackers use lists of username and password combinations obtained from sources such as dark web. They try these credentials on multiple websites, and thereby exploit users who reuse passwords across multiple platforms.
• Brute Force Attacks: Attackers attempt to systematically guess usernames and passwords until they find the correct combination. Weak or easily guessable passwords are particularly vulnerable to brute force attacks.
• Social Engineering Tactics: Attackers manipulate individuals into revealing their login credentials through psychological manipulation. They might pose as trustable people such as company officials, sometimes even as friends or family.
• Malware: Attackers infect devices with malware such as keyloggers, that can capture keystrokes, screen activity, or steal stored credentials. Malicious downloads, email attachments, or compromised websites often distribute this malware.
• Data Breaches: Databases usually contain usernames and passwords, which are compromised by various attack methods. Attackers can exploit this stolen information to launch multiple ATO attacks.
• Botnets: Attackers can deploy bots to hack into users’ accounts. Bots can quickly try common passwords and usernames to hack accounts without the user's knowledge.

Common Targets of Account Takeover Attacks

Account takeover attacks can target various online platforms and services. The following are common targets:

• Financial Accounts: The biggest target when it comes to ATO attacks is financial accounts as they offer direct financial gain. Through ATO attacks, attackers aim to steal money from bank accounts, and credit cards or make fraudulent transactions.
• Email Accounts: Another prime targets of account takeover attacks are email accounts. This is because they offer gain access to crucial information that can be used to commit fraud or identity theft. Moreover, they launch further phishing attacks against the victim's contacts.
• Social Media Accounts: Social media are a treasure trove of personal information such as phone numbers. This makes them perfect targets for ATO attacks. Criminals use the data for identity theft, spreading malicious content, scamming contacts, launching phishing attacks or spreading malware.
• Cloud Storage Accounts: Businesses often store sensitive documents, financial records, or personal data on the cloud. Stealing access to these accounts allows attackers to compromise this sensitive information. They can also even use the cloud storage for malicious purposes.
• Workplace Accounts: Work-related accounts such as corporate email, collaboration tools, and cloud services are often targeted by cybercriminals. They aim to steal business information, intellectual property, or gain unauthorized access to corporate networks.

Impact of Account Takeover Attacks

Account takeover attacks can have significant impacts on both individuals and organizations. Here are some common impacts:

• Identity Theft: Attackers can use compromised accounts to steal personal information including social security numbers and carry out identity theft. This, in turn, can lead to financial fraud, unauthorized transactions, and damage to the victim's credit score.
• Financial Losses: ATO attacks often result in financial losses for individuals or businesses. This is because of fraudulent transactions, or theft of financial information like credit card details or bank account numbers.
• Reputational Damages: ATO attacks when deeply hurt customers’ trust in businesses. If customer accounts are hacked, it can hurt a business's reputation, credibility, and cause customers to leave.
• User Experience Damages: During account takeover attacks, users can experience disruption because of account lockouts, unauthorized changes to account settings, or the loss of access to valuable services. Damage to user experience leads to reputational damage to the service and its providers.
• Malware Delivery: In some cases, account takeover attacks may deliver malware to the victim's device. This can lead to further severe security breaches, data theft, or the compromise of other accounts or systems connected to the infected device.

Account Takeover vs Identity Theft

Account takeover and identity theft are two distinct but closely related concepts.

Real-Life Examples of Account Takeover

Yahoo Breach (2013-2014)

Yahoo reported that over 3 billion user accounts were compromised, making it one of the largest data breaches in history. Personal information including, usernames, email addresses, passwords, and security questions was compromised in this attack. This led to widespread paranoia and concerns about identity theft and any further attacks.

Facebook Data Breach (2018)

Impacting around 30 million user accounts, Facebook faced a significant data breach where hackers exploited a vulnerability in the platform's "View As" feature. The attackers took 400,000 accounts under their control to gain the access tokens of the users. This breach led to the compromise of crucial personal information including names, contact details, relationship status and location.

Twitter Bitcoin Scam (2020)

On July 15, 2020, several verified Twitter accounts belonging to over 130 high-profile personalities, celebrities, and companies were compromised. This included accounts like Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Apple, and Uber, among others. The attackers used these accounts to promote a Bitcoin scam. The attackers tricked followers into sending cryptocurrency valuing $110,000 to fraudulent addresses as a part of COVID-19 charity.

Zoom Credential Stuffing (2020)

Over 500,000 Zoom accounts were compromised during a credential stuffing attack by the attacks. They used previously leaked credentials from other breaches to try to gain unauthorized access to Zoom accounts. This led to privacy concerns and disruptions in online meetings, impacting the employees.

Account Takeover Prevention and Protection

Account takeover poses a significant risk as it can result in unauthorized access to personal or financial information. Organizations can consider implementing the following preventive measures and protection strategies to mitigate this threat.

• Password Security Policies: Organizations should ensure and encourage their employees to follow the best secure password practises, which results in strong and complex passwords. They must advise them to use a unique password for every account. Moreover, they must constantly remind to update all passwords at regular intervals and avoid easy guessable information as passwords.
• Strong Authentication Measures: These measures include two-factor or multi-factor authentication and biometric authentication. Implementing 2FA or MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second verification code besides the credentials. Biometric authentication methods like fingerprint or facial recognition can be added for more security.
• Education and Awareness: Enterprises must educate users about common phishing techniques and how to recognize phishing attempts, such as suspicious emails, messages, or links asking for login credentials. One must promote good security practices, such as not sharing passwords, logging out of devices when not in use, and being cautious of public Wi-Fi networks.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: To better prevent account takeover attempts, organizations must employ platforms and tools that monitor users’ login patterns and behaviour for anomalies or suspicious activities. Every user activity must be logged and analysed to detect unauthorized activity or unexpected changes to account details. In addition, one can use bot detection solutions to monitor and block credential stuffing or brute force accts.
• Login Attempt Limits: By providing a finite amount of login attempts for secure accounts, cybercriminals can’t spam login attempts, hoping to find the right password. This is especially effective against bot spamming, which can originate from different IP addresses.
• Protection Against Phishing: As phishing is a common attack method for carrying out ATO attacks, employees must be trained intensely to detect such emails and promptly report to the authorities. Organizations can employ internet filtering to filter out risky or suspicious emails.
• Security Audits and Vulnerability Assessment: Enterprises must ensure that systems, applications, and security protocols are regularly updated with the latest patches and security updates to mitigate vulnerabilities that could be exploited for ATO attacks.
• Sandboxing: Sandboxing can help prevent Account Takeover (ATO) attacks by creating a safe virtual environment where suspicious activities and potential threats can be tested and isolated without affecting the main system.
• ZTNA: ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access) helps prevent ATO attacks by making it harder for attackers to use stolen credentials. Even if the attacker gets username and password, ZTNA only grants access to authorized applications and data after additional checks. This makes it much more difficult for attackers to take over any account.

Accounts Protection with Sangfor

Sangfor offers a wide range of security solutions, aimed at not only protecting your accounts but also your data, networks and systems. Sangfor Network Secure is an NGFW that uses AI and machine learning to detect account takeover threats. It also integrates with other Sangfor products to provide a holistic security solution.

Sangfor ZTNA solutions actively monitors and prevents ATO attacks through its granular access and better visibility into user activity. Sangfor Cyber Guardian MDR uses a combination of artificial intelligence and human expertise to detect and respond to threats relating to account takeover. This service can improve your organization’s security posture by providing 24/7 monitoring and threat intelligence.

To learn more about Sangfor cybersecurity products and solutions, visit us at www.sangfor.com or contact us.

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