What is credential stuffing mitigation?

Credential stuffing mitigation is a set of tools and best practices aimed at preventing  or limiting the impact of credential stuffing attacks. Common methods for credential stuffing mitigation include enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA), implementing rate limiting and geo-fencing on login pages, monitoring for compromised credentials, and leveraging behavioral analysis to detect and block automated attacks.

Mitigating credential stuffing attacks helps businesses avoid costly account takeovers, which can lead to theft of stored PII and credit card data, and identity fraud. If attackers are able to successfully access legitimate accounts, they can exploit them for sensitive data, steal funds or PII, or escalate breaches across other services.

For businesses, the costs of a successful credential stuffing attack go beyond the initial attack—not just in quantifiable costs like legal fees, regulatory fines, and post-breach cybersecurity efforts, but also in harder-to-quantify areas like reputational damage and loss of customer trust.

Fortunately, implementing cybersecurity measures to mitigate credential stuffing attacks can help businesses avoid these costly consequences.

The best practice to combat credential stuffing attacks is to adopt a layered approach that includes both proactive user authentication measures and advanced detection techniques.

Effective tools and techniques for mitigating credential stuffing include:

Multifactor authentication (MFA):
MFA requires users to provide multiple forms of verification beyond just a password, significantly reducing the chance of compromise even when attackers possess valid credentials.

CAPTCHA challenges:
CAPTCHAs introduce a human verification step during the login process, helping to block automated bots from testing large volumes of credentials. While CAPTCHA challenges help prevent simple bot attacks, advanced attackers can easily overcome them, and they are often frustrating for users due to difficult-to-read text and time-consuming tasks. Alternative verification tools such as HUMAN’s Human Challenge can offer a smoother experience by verifying legitimate users in a way that minimizes disruption, maintaining security without the typical CAPTCHA frustrations.

Bot detection and behavioral analytics:
Advanced bot detection tools are essential for flagging the automated, non-human behavior that characterizes credential stuffing attacks. By analyzing patterns like rapid-fire login attempts, unusual time zones, and mismatched user behavior, these systems can identify and block malicious login activity in real time.

Rate limiting:
Rate limiting limits the number of requests a client can send to the server during a specific time frame. This can help disrupt credential stuffing efforts by preventing attackers from making mass login attempts from the same source, forcing them to slow down or relocate their operations. However, rate limiting may also block real users who make multiple login attempts, and can be circumvented by techniques such as residential proxy rotation.

Reputation-based risk scoring:
This technique assesses the risk of each login attempt based on factors such as the device, IP address reputation, and user history. High-risk logins can trigger additional security measures, such as MFA, or be blocked entirely, depending on the risk level.

Compromised credential detection:
Actively monitoring for compromised credentials from known data breaches can help flag and block login attempts using stolen data. Users can also be prompted to reset passwords before an attacker succeeds in using their compromised credentials.

HUMAN Account Takeover Defense takes a comprehensive approach to combating credential stuffing attacks:

• Flags the use of stolen credentials: By preventing the use of stolen login data in real-world attacks, Account Takeover Defense reduces your exposure to compromised accounts.
• Stops automated bot attacks in real time: Detects and blocks bots attempting logins, cutting off credential stuffing attempts before they succeed.

Account Takeover Defense also offers Human Challenge, the first user-friendly verification tool that protects web and mobile applications by presenting a visual challenge to help easily differentiate humans from bots. Solve times for Human Challenge are four to six times faster than reCAPTCHA, and abandonment rates are three to five times lower — a winning combination.

Account Takeover Defense stops credential stuffing attacks with unparalleled accuracy. The solution safeguards online revenue, protects brand reputation and improves operational efficiency, all while preserving user experience.

• How an e-commerce retailer reduced malicious login attempts by millions
• HUMAN Account Takeover Defense
• Human Challenge