How to protect your organization from identity-based attacks

Identity-based attacks are becoming increasingly common, targeting employees, customers, and partners rather than traditional infrastructure. Learn about the most common attack techniques and how to protect your organization.

Cybercriminals are more frequently targeting human behavior to breach systems. Instead of relying solely on technical vulnerabilities, they exploit weaknesses like stolen credentials and privilege misuse, or use social engineering tactics such as phishing. Unlike traditional attacks that focus on infrastructure, these threats are designed to manipulate people rather than technology.

The human factor in cybersecurity

Human behavior continues to be one of the biggest cybersecurity risks. Stolen credentials, phishing, and social engineering remain among the most common ways attackers gain access to organizations. This problem isn’t isolated to any particular group of users. It’s a widespread issue because anyone who connects to your organization’s resources, including employees, customers, and partners, can become a target for cyberattacks.

One of the biggest challenges is securing the human element, as people naturally prioritize convenience over security. Unfortunately, this often leads to behaviors that put the organization at risk.

Take passwords, for example:

How many times have you reused passwords across multiple accounts?
Are your passwords often simple or based on patterns?

While common, these habits make organizations vulnerable. Attackers know that humans are often the weakest link in the security chain, and they use this knowledge to their advantage.

Common identity-based attacks

Here are some of the most common identity-based attacks and how they exploit human weaknesses.

1. Password spraying

In this attack, cybercriminals use common passwords to try and access multiple accounts within an organization. Password spraying is a form of brute-force attack that operates gradually and discreetly to evade detection, increasing the likelihood of success without triggering alerts.

Why it works: Many users choose simple passwords or fail to change default ones, leaving accounts vulnerable.

2. Credential stuffing

Credential stuffing is similar to password spraying but uses previously stolen username-password pairs from data breaches. Attackers try these on new services, exploiting the fact that many people reuse passwords across different platforms.

Why it works: Since many users reuse the same credentials, breaches in unrelated services can be used to access other accounts.

3. Phishing

Phishing is a common social engineering tactic where users are tricked into giving away sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial details. These attempts can come via email, SMS, or phone calls and are often disguised as legitimate messages. Targeted versions include spear phishing, aimed at specific individuals, and whaling, which targets high-profile executives.

Why it works: Phishing preys on emotions like fear, urgency, or trust, making users more likely to click malicious links or reveal sensitive information.

4. AI-assisted phishing

Generative AI enables cybercriminals to create highly convincing phishing emails, messages, and even voice impersonations. These attacks can be personalized at scale, making it increasingly difficult for users to distinguish legitimate communication from malicious attempts.

Why it works: AI-generated content often appears more credible and convincing, increasing the likelihood that users will reveal credentials, approve fraudulent requests, or click malicious links.

5. MFA fatigue attack

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a great defense, but it’s not perfect. Attackers exploit MFA fatigue by sending users repeated push notifications until they approve a login out of frustration or confusion.

Why it works: In a typical MFA setup, users may approve a login they didn’t initiate just to stop the constant notifications.

6. Session hijacking

Session hijacking happens when an attacker steals a user’s session token, allowing them to pretend to be that user without needing to log in again. Attackers may steal session tokens through techniques such as cross-site scripting (XSS), malware, or browser cookie theft. Once they take over the session, attackers can move around the system and gain higher access.

Why it works: Even with MFA, once the session is active, attackers can bypass additional checks and continue their attack.

The business impact of identity-based attacks

Most identity-based attacks are financially motivated. Cybercriminals target organizations to steal sensitive data, demand ransom, commit fraud, or sell stolen credentials on the dark web. Other attacks may be driven by espionage, activism, or individuals seeking to disrupt business operations.

Regardless of the motive, identity-based attacks can have significant financial and operational consequences, including business disruption, regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust.

Cloudworks illustration

How to protect your organization

Defending against identity-based attacks requires a combination of technical controls and user education. Both are essential for reducing risk and stopping attacks before they cause harm.

Key technical defenses:

Single Sign-On (SSO): Centralizes authentication and enforces strong password policies, reducing the number of passwords users need to manage.

Phishing-resistant MFA: Go beyond traditional MFA and implement phishing-resistant options that use strong cryptographic protections. This makes it difficult for attackers to hijack sessions, even if they have a user’s credentials.

Continuous threat detection: Use AI-driven threat detection to identify suspicious sign-in attempts, unusual user behavior, and other indicators of identity-based attacks in real time.

Automated response: Use workflows that automatically lock accounts, reset passwords, or alert security teams when threats are detected.

User Education:

Technology alone can’t prevent human error. Training users to recognize and avoid threats is essential. Here are some key strategies:

Password hygiene: Promote long, unique passphrases that only change when necessary.

Passwordless authentication: Remove passwords entirely by adopting methods like biometrics or hardware tokens to eliminate password risks.

Recognizing phishing attacks: Teach employees to spot phishing across all communication channels, and ensure they know how to report it. Cloudworks illustration

Staying one step ahead of attackers

Cybersecurity is not just about prevention; it's also about detection and response. By analyzing identity signals such as user behavior, device, location, and sign-in risk, organizations can detect and respond to threats before they escalate.

A key way to do this is through adaptive authentication, which adjusts security requirements in real time based on the level of risk. For example, if someone signs in from a new location or device, additional verification may be required.

Continuous monitoring after sign-in helps detect unusual behavior and enables organizations to respond quickly by ending sessions, locking accounts, or requiring additional authentication.