Word
brute force attack
Definition
compound. a way of breaking into a computer system by trying every possible password until the right one is found. It is like trying every key on a huge ring to open a door.
compound. a cryptographic hack that relies on systematic trial and error to guess a password or encryption key. It involves an automated script testing every possible character combination until access is granted.
Examples
“The server blocked the brute-force attack after ten failed login attempts.”
“To prevent a brute-force attack, the website requires users to solve a puzzle after three incorrect passwords.”
“While a brute-force attack is theoretically guaranteed to succeed eventually, modern encryption makes the time required to test every permutation practically impossible for standard hardware.”
Examples
simple
“The server blocked the brute-force attack after ten failed login attempts.”
contextual
“To prevent a brute-force attack, the website requires users to solve a puzzle after three incorrect passwords.”
complex
“While a brute-force attack is theoretically guaranteed to succeed eventually, modern encryption makes the time required to test every permutation practically impossible for standard hardware.”
Usage
Often used with the verbs 'launch', 'perform', or 'mitigate'.
Etymology
A compound of the adjective brute, derived from the Middle French brut, and the noun force. The term applies the concept of physical strength or unreasoning power to computational trial and error.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/brute-force-attack