Home > Empowering Tips > Password Spraying: The Subtle Cyberattack That Feeds on Weak Passwords

If you’ve ever used email, social media, or online banking, you’ve probably been warned about weak passwords. But have you ever heard of password spraying? It’s one of the ways cybercriminals try to break into accounts — and it works more often than you might think. Let’s break down what password spraying is, how it works, and what you can do to stay safe.

What is Password Spraying?

Password spraying is a type of cyberattack where a hacker tries to log into many accounts by using a few common passwords. Unlike other attacks where a hacker guesses password after password for one account (which often gets the account locked), password spraying spreads the guesses across many accounts to avoid triggering security systems.

How It Works

Imagine a hacker knows that a company has 500 employees. Instead of guessing one person’s password repeatedly, they try the same common password (like Password123) on all 500 accounts.

If no one uses that password, the hacker might try another common one, like abc123, across all accounts. Because they’re only trying one or two guesses per account at a time, they fly under the radar — accounts don’t get locked, and IT systems might not notice unusual behaviour right away.

Example 1 — Workplace accounts

A hacker gets a list of employee emails at a law firm. They try these passwords across all accounts:

• Password123
• Welcome1
• Company2025

If even one person has reused one of those weak passwords, the hacker gets in. From there, they might read emails, steal files, or reset other passwords.

Example 2 — Social media accounts

Someone gathers public usernames from Twitter. They try these passwords on thousands of accounts:

• qwerty
• letmein
• 123456

Even though many people use stronger passwords, there’s always a chance a few don’t — and the hacker only needs one successful login to start causing problems.

Why Does Password Spraying Work?

It works because many people still use common or simple passwords. A few of the most frequently used (and easily guessed) passwords are:

• 123456
• password
• admin

Even worse, some people reuse the same password on multiple accounts, so if a hacker cracks one, they can access others too.

How to Protect Yourself

Here’s what you can do to make password spraying harder (or useless) against you:

• Use strong, unique passwords for every account. A good password mixes letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and symbols.
• Don’t reuse passwords across different accounts — especially between work and personal accounts.
• Enable two-factor authentication whenever possible. Even if a hacker guesses your password, they won’t get in without your second step (like a code sent to your phone).
• Change default passwords immediately. For example, if a new account starts with a default like admin123, change it right away.
• Consider using a password manager to help you create and store strong passwords without having to remember them all.

Final Thoughts

Password spraying is a quiet, sneaky attack — but knowing how it works can help you stay ahead. A few simple habits, like using stronger passwords and enabling two-factor authentication, make you a much harder target.

Stay safe and keep your accounts locked down.