We naturally protect what we value most, whether it's money, property, or information. Data and information are currently among the most valuable assets for individuals, companies, and institutions. This explains why cybersecurity may not directly accrue revenue to organisations but nearly all of them invest heavily in it. These organizations may have in-house cybersecurity teams or use managed service providers (MSPs) to secure their digital infrastructure.
The primary goal of cybersecurity is to be able to provide accurate data and information to the right individuals who need it all the time, and these information are stored in databases and accounts that are protected by credentials. Thus, usernames, passwords, or tokens. These credentials are exactly what attackers target to gain unauthorized access. To better understand how systems are compromised, it's important to explore how attackers obtain these credentials. Some of the most common methods employed include brute-force attacks, credential harvesting through keyloggers, man-in-the-middle attacks, and phishing.
Brute-force attacks involve trying many combinations of usernames and passwords until one works. It is essentially a trial-and-error method. These attacks can succeed if users choose weak or commonly used passwords. Attackers often don’t guess passwords randomly, they use databases of leaked credentials from past breaches. These leaked credentials may be stored in plain text or hashed. If hashed, attackers attempt to crack them using dictionary attacks or tools like rainbow tables, which map common passwords to their corresponding hash values. To make this harder, secure systems salt their passwords. This means adding a random value before hashing so that the same password generates different hashes for different users.
Another variation of this method is password spraying. Instead of trying many passwords on a single account, which can trigger account lockouts, attackers try one common password across many accounts. This makes their activity harder to detect and bypasses many lockout mechanisms. 
Credential harvesting is another tactic attackers use, often through keylogging. A keylogger is a malicious software that records everything a user types, including login credentials, and then sends this information back to the attacker. Keyloggers can also capture web browsing activity and other sensitive data. They usually get onto a device through compromised software downloads, especially from unofficial or untrusted sources. Attackers might embed a keylogger into what appears to be legitimate software. To protect against this, users should download software only from trusted sites and verify its authenticity using checksums (long string of texts and numbers) provided by the official developers. One can verify this by comparing the checksum they generate from the downloaded software to the one provided by the developer.
Man-in-the-middle (MITM)/ On-path  attacks are yet another serious threat. In this attack, an attacker secretly intercepts or alters communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly with each other. For example, you may think you are securely connected to your bank’s website, but in reality, an attacker has inserted themselves between you and the site. The attacker can then redirect the traffic to a fake website, read your messages, or even alter them in real time. These attacks often rely on techniques like IP spoofing, HTTPS spoofing, DNS poisoning, or ARP spoofing.
Finally, phishing remains one of the most effective and widespread methods of credential theft. In a phishing attack, the attacker impersonates a trusted entity such as a bank, service provider, or a colleague. The attacker then attempts to trick the victim to reveal personal information. These attacks can be delivered via email (traditional phishing), SMS (smishing), or phone calls (vishing). Victims are usually prompted to click on a link that leads to a fraudulent website designed to capture their credentials or sensitive data. In some cases, the attacker may even use cloned messages from legitimate institutions, making it difficult to detect the fraud.
In conclusion, attackers are constantly finding new ways to steal credentials and compromise systems, therefore understanding how these attacks work whether through brute force, keyloggers, man-in-the-middle attack, or phishing can help individuals and organizations take proactive steps to defend themselves. Using strong unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, avoiding the use of same passwords for different accounts, keeping an updated system, avoiding suspicious downloads, and staying informed about common threats are crucial practices in building a strong cybersecurity posture.