The world's workforce; increasingly centralized. Remote work, outsourcing, and the rise of cloud-based technologies continue to blur geographic boundaries, causing small and medium-sized businesses to expand into the world. To protect networks that support this type of work arrangement, many small and medium-sized businesses use remote desktops to diagnose and repair network problems. protocol Relies on offsite technical support teams using RDP. RDP provides secure network communication between terminal server and terminal server client. It is widely used by network administrators to access virtual desktops and applications remotely. Using RDP carries a high risk, especially as unprotected remote desktops are quickly becoming the preferred entry point among hackers. Unfortunately, many companies By failing to follow simple security measures, they expose themselves to risks. The world's workforce; increasingly centralized. Remote work, outsourcing, and the rise of cloud-based technologies continue to blur geographic boundaries, causing small and medium-sized businesses to expand into the world.
To protect networks that support this type of work arrangement, many small and medium-sized businesses use remote desktops to diagnose and repair network problems. protocol Relies on offsite technical support teams using RDP. RDP provides secure network communication between terminal server and terminal server client. It is widely used by network administrators to access virtual desktops and applications remotely. Using RDP carries a high risk, especially as unprotected remote desktops are quickly becoming the preferred entry point among hackers. Unfortunately, many companies By failing to follow simple safety precautions, they expose themselves to risks.
What is RDP Brute force attack?
A few more on" Think of a thief with a hundred thousand keys. The criminal uses the keys one after the other to unlock the front door. The better your lock, the longer it will take them to get in. However, sooner or later they will likely find the right key and do whatever they want inside. This is the mainstay of an RDP attack.
In an RDP Brute Force attack, hackers use network scanners like Masscan to identify the IP and TCP port ranges used by RDP servers. Criminals try to access the machine (usually as an administrator) using their tools, which automatically try to log in repeatedly using numerous username and password combinations. During this time, server performance will take a hit as attacks consume system resources. After hours, days, and even weeks of systematic trial and error, hackers can eventually guess the username and password and grant server access, and once in, the potential for damage is nothing short of catastrophic.
Why do hackers use RDP attack?
When an attacker has access via RDP, they can do almost anything within the privilege limits of the hacked account. Criminals gaining admin access, disable antivirus software, malware They can do whatever they want, including installing purposeful software, extracting company data, encrypting files, and much more. As you can imagine, this level of deterioration can have a huge impact on a company's reputation, finances and day-to-day operations. While some cybercriminals want to create chaos, many launch RDP attacks with specific targets in mind, such as:
What is Ransomware ?
The most profitable, bad Ransomware, a form of purposeful software, is most commonly spread through RDP attacks. Once inside, it's a simple matter for hackers to encrypt system files and demand exorbitant ransom from their victims. He estimates that about two-thirds of all ransomware attacks are delivered via RDP.
What is Keylogging ?
A keylogger is a tiny evil that sits in the background and monitors every key you press without your knowledge. It is a piece of purpose-built software. It can be used to collect private data such as credit card details, passwords, sensitive company information, and more. If criminals want to take a more subtle approach, they can use an RDP attack to secretly install a keylogger. .
How Can You Protect Your Business Against RDP Brute Force Attacks
The key to combating RDP attacks is to be proactive. As mentioned, once a hacker has hacked into your company's system, there's no limit to the havoc they can wreak. With that in mind, firstly the remote desktop; You need to focus on preventing first access by minimizing security risks. This can be done in various ways:
1. Strong; using username and password : The simplest and most effective thing you can do to avoid falling victim to an RDP Brute Force attack is to change your login information. Set your account name to default "ADMIN". Changing it to a more complex name than , as well as making your password long, unique, complex (containing numbers, symbols, and uppercase and lowercase letters), your username and password for cybercriminals. makes the need to guess your password twice as hard. Before creating a new account, you must deactivate the existing administrator account.
2. Setting Remote Access Restrictions: To further reduce the risk of attack, set a limit on the number of people who can log in using RDP. Restricting RDP access to only those who really need it minimizes the risk of security breaches.
3. Account Lockout Policy Determination :As mentioned, brute force RDP attacks require hundreds, thousands or even millions of login attempts. You can slow down attacks by creating a simple policy that locks users out after a certain number of attempts.
4. Use RDP Gateway : RDP gateway, removing remote user access to all internal network resources and doing this with a point-to-point RDP connection more network control by changing provides. This lets you specify who can connect, what resources they can access, what type of authentication clients should use, and more.
5. Change RDP Port : When scanning the Internet, hackers often look for connections that use the default RDP port (TCP 3389). Theoretically this means you can essentially “hide” your RDP connection by changing the listening port to something else. means.
To do this, use the Windows Registry Editor to modify the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Terminal Server \ WinStations \ RDP-Tcp \ PortNumber
WARNING: Editing the registry can cause serious problems. Always back up your registry before editing, and don't try to edit if you are in any way unsure.
Uncertain security is not a particularly reliable or effective method of protection. In addition, many modern browsers automatically check T&M ports for RDP connections, not just TCP 3389. However, some users may find this approach useful in preventing RDP attacks.
6. Prevention is the Best Defense