Offline attacks take place when an encrypted file, such as a PDF or document, is intercepted, or when a hashed key is transferred (as is the case with WiFi.) If you copy an encrypted file or hashed password, an attacker can take this key home with them and try to crack it at their leisure.Īlthough this may sound awful, it’s not as bad as you may think. Offline attacks are much more sinister, and don’t offer this protection. From there, an attacker could try a handful of targeted passwords that would have a higher success rate than just random guesses. In the case of an online attack, a hacker would most likely do a lot of research on a particular target to see if they could find any identifying information about them, such as children’s names, birthdays, significant others, old addresses, etc. If you looked in a few places, it probably wouldn’t look too odd however, if you spent all day in front of the house, you’d be spotted and told to leave right away! This system is actually designed to protect you from hackers who are trying billions of guesses to figure out your password.Īn online attack would be like if you tried to search for someone’s hidden key in their front yard while they were home. This has probably happened to you if you’ve forgotten your password and been locked out of your account. Online attacks on secure websites are very difficult for a hacker, because these types of sites will limit the number of times an attacker can try a password. Online attacks require the attacker trying to login to your online account to go to the specific website they are targeting. Offline attacks are where a hacker can take a password hash, copy it, and take it home with them to work on. Now, let’s break down password attacks into two different types: online and offline. However, if you didn’t know where the key was it would probably take you a long time to find it. It would be similar to hiding a key to your house in your front yard: if you knew where the key was, it would take you only a few seconds to find it. A hash is also a way of scrambling a password-so if you know the trick, you can easily unscramble it.

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