Think Like a Hacker: Why Most Cyberattacks Start with Human Error, Not Brute Force

The public imagination often envisions cyberattacks as the work of hoodie-wearing hackers furiously typing lines of code to break into a system. While brute-force attacks do exist, the truth is that most breaches occur because of human vulnerabilities rather than system vulnerabilities. A missed software update or a reused password can expose an entire organisation.

This paper unpacks the real reasons breaches occur and why understanding the attacker's mindset can help organisations better prepare.

The Myth of the Brute Force Hacker Brute-force attacks involve systematically guessing passwords or encryption keys until the right one is found. Though this technique can succeed against poorly secured systems, it is noisy, slow, and easily detected by modern security tools. Most hackers avoid brute force as a first resort because it's inefficient and rarely effective.

More common are phishing emails, malicious links, credential stuffing, and exploiting known vulnerabilities with publicly available patches.

The Real Attack Vectors: Human Error and Negligence Cybercriminals typically choose the path of least resistance. And for most organisations, that path is human behaviour.

• Phishing: The most successful attacks begin with email. According to Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), 74% of breaches involved the human element.
• Reused Passwords: Studies show that over 60% of users reuse passwords across work and personal accounts. A single breached password can lead to a chain reaction of unauthorised access.
• Unpatched Software: Missed updates leave systems vulnerable to known exploits. Attackers scan the internet for these weaknesses daily.
• Misconfigurations: Simple missteps in firewall, cloud, or server settings can expose sensitive data.

Evidence from Industry Reports

• Verizon DBIR 2023: Human errors, phishing, and credential misuse dominate the root causes of breaches.
• IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report: 2023 findings show the average cost of a breach caused by phishing was over $4.76 million.
• CISA Alerts: The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency continually highlights preventable, known vulnerabilities as top targets.
• LastPass Psychology of Passwords Report (2023): Found that 62% of users still reuse passwords, a major contributing factor in credential stuffing attacks.

Case Studies: When One Mistake Opened the Door

• Equifax (2017): One of the largest data breaches in history was caused by a missed Apache Struts update. The exploit was known and a patch was available.
• Colonial Pipeline (2021): Attackers accessed the system via a single compromised VPN password. MFA was not enabled.
• British Airways (2018): A misconfigured JavaScript library allowed attackers to skim payment card data from 380,000 customers.

These cases underscore how minor oversights can lead to massive consequences.

Why Brute Force Is the Least of Your Worries Brute force requires significant computing power, generates high traffic volumes (easy to detect), and is often blocked by security measures like rate limiting or account lockouts.

Modern attackers aim for:

• Credential Stuffing: Using stolen usernames/passwords from other breaches.
• Social Engineering: Tricking employees into handing over credentials.
• Public Exploits: Leveraging known CVEs before organisations patch them.

Building Better Cyber Resilience To defend against these real threats, businesses should focus on the following:

• Patch Management: Automate and prioritise critical updates.
• Password Hygiene: Enforce strong, unique passwords with password managers and MFA.
• Email Filtering and Security: Use advanced tools to detect phishing and suspicious links.
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): Identify and contain threats early.
• Zero Trust Architecture: Don’t assume trust based on location or login.
• Regular Backups: Ensure data can be restored after an incident.

The Role of Cybersecurity Awareness Technology alone isn't enough. Your people are both your biggest risk and your strongest line of defence.

• Training and Simulation: Run phishing simulations and interactive training.
• Cybersecurity Culture: Make security a daily priority, not a once-a-year box-tick.
• Leadership Buy-in: Security must be a business priority, supported from the top down.

Most cyberattacks don’t start with brute force. They begin with a mistake—a missed patch, a bad password, a phishing email.

To truly think like a hacker is to recognise that attackers are opportunists. They exploit what we overlook. Defeating them starts not with more firewalls, but with better habits, stronger awareness, and proactive, layered defences.

Don’t wait for a breach to make cybersecurity a priority. Start where the threats actually begin—with your people, your processes, and your overlooked weaknesses.

Join our Think Like a Hacker Webinar to learn more