Account Takeover
When an attacker gains unauthorized control of a legitimate user's online account, usually to steal money, data, or identity.
Account takeover↗ occurs when an attacker gains unauthorized control of a legitimate user's account, email, banking, social media, or a corporate login, typically after obtaining the password through phishing↗, a data breach↗, or credential stuffing↗. Once inside, the attacker can impersonate the victim, steal funds or data, or use the account as a launchpad for further attacks.
Account takeover is especially damaging because the activity often looks legitimate to automated defenses, since it comes from a real, trusted account. Multi-factor authentication↗, unique passwords per site, and login alerts are the most effective defenses against it.