Credential stuffing has become a growing concern in the Fiserv and FinTech industries. As cybercriminals relentlessly attempt to gain unauthorized access to user accounts, they employ fraudulent tactics such as large-scale account takeovers and targeted attacks to breach sensitive information. According to the latest reports, credential stuffing now ranks in the top 10 fraud tactics used by cybercriminals worldwide, highlighting its increasing prevalence in the financial sector.

Professionals in the Fiserv & FinTech industries, compliance officers, decision-makers, and stakeholders must prioritize implementing robust security measures to mitigate the risks associated with credential stuffing, and ensure that their platforms are well-protected against these threats. A comprehensive approach to securing user accounts needs to include a combination of innovative technology solutions and compliance with relevant regulations and guidelines.

As the financial industry continues to innovate and incorporate greater levels of automation and digitalization, the need to secure platforms and systems becomes even more paramount. By leveraging technical insights and utilizing the latest industry developments, organizations can create an environment that is resilient to potential attacks, safeguarding the user accounts and financial data of their customers.

Additionally, regulatory compliance plays a crucial role in the battle against credential stuffing. Compliance officers, regulators, and auditors must ensure that organizations adhere to requisite cybersecurity norms and guidelines, protecting businesses and the industry as a whole from the negative effects of such attacks. Implementing a strong security posture is not only good business practice, but it also goes a long way toward ensuring trust with customers and safeguarding their sensitive financial information.

In the following sections, we will delve into strategies that prevent credential stuffing attacks, with a focus on the benefits and implementation tactics of each strategy. Solutions like Verisoul can also be instrumental in helping businesses protect themselves against fake users, enhancing overall security while reducing the impact of fraud on their systems. Understanding and implementing these strategies will be key in addressing the persistent threat of credential stuffing in the highly competitive Fiserv and FinTech landscape.

Strategy 1: Device and Browser Fingerprinting

What is Device and Browser Fingerprinting

Device and Browser Fingerprinting is a technique used to identify, track, and monitor individual devices and web browsers without the need for storing cookies or other tracking mechanisms. It works by collecting unique sets of data from individual user devices, which are then analyzed to create a distinctive identifier, commonly referred to as a "fingerprint."

How does it work

• Unique signature creation: The fingerprinting process involves creating a unique signature based on a wide range of attributes collected from the user's device or browser. Some common attributes include screen resolution, operating system, device model, installed plugins, language preferences, and HTML5 canvas rendering.
• Collecting device/browser data points: The fingerprinting process typically involves collecting data points from devices or browsers in a systematic manner, such as by utilizing JavaScript or other relevant web APIs.
• Cross-referencing usage patterns: The unique identifier is then cross-referenced with existing records in a database to track, monitor, and analyze the usage patterns of individual devices and browsers.

Pros & Cons

• Pros:

  
  
  • Efficient tracking/blocking of suspicious devices: Fingerprinting allows organizations to effectively track and block devices and browsers involved in credential stuffing attacks. By monitoring and analyzing usage patterns, organizations can proactively detect and thwart potential threats.
  • Combating credential stuffing through proxies: Cybercriminals often use proxy networks to conduct credential stuffing attacks. Device and browser fingerprinting helps identify the real source of such attacks, even when they are routed through different proxy servers.
  
  

• Cons:

  
  
  • Privacy concerns: Collecting extensive data on users' devices and browsers may raise privacy concerns, and potentially infringe upon legal regulations, such as GDPR in the European Union. It is essential for businesses to balance security measures with the protection of users' privacy.
  • Potential for user resistance: Due to increasing public awareness of privacy issues, users may be inclined to avoid platforms that employ extensive tracking techniques. This can negatively impact the user experience and may result in lost business opportunities.
  
  

Implementation tactics

• Integration of fingerprinting SDKs or APIs: Businesses can employ readily available fingerprinting SDKs (Software Development Kits) or APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to integrate the functionality within their platforms. This allows for quicker implementation, ongoing support, and compatibility with a range of device types and browsers.
• Building in-house solutions to monitor unique signatures: In cases where a custom solution is desired, organizations can develop an in-house system to collect, analyze, and monitor device and browser fingerprints. This may be more time-consuming and costly, but can provide greater flexibility in terms of customization and alignment with specific business needs. Integrating this solution with existing fraud detection and analytics frameworks can augment overall security.

Strategy 2: Advanced Captcha

What is Advanced Captcha

Advanced Captcha, or Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart, is a modern security measure designed to differentiate between human users and automated bots when accessing online services. While traditional Captcha methods relied on distorted text and numeric challenges, advanced versions encompass a wide variety of challenge types to provide improved bot detection.

How does it work

Advanced Captcha works by presenting users with visual, audio, and logic-based challenges during the authentication process. This can include image recognition tests, speech input, mathematical puzzles, or interactive games. This forces users to demonstrate human-like behavior, which is difficult for bots to mimic, reducing the success rates of credential stuffing attacks.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Bypass prevention: Advanced Captcha incorporates diverse challenge designs and utilizes advanced algorithms, making it difficult for bots to bypass the challenges consistently.
• Reducing success rates for automated bots: By preventing bots from passing authentication, the success rates of credential stuffing attacks can be significantly reduced. This, in turn, discourages cybercriminals from specifically targeting Fiserv and FinTech companies that use such security measures.

Cons:

• Inconvenience to genuine users: Implementing Advanced Captcha can introduce minor friction points to the user experience, as legitimate users may find the challenges time-consuming or complicated.
• Accessibility challenges: Certain Advanced Captcha challenges, such as visual or audio-based tasks, may not be accessible to users with visual or hearing impairments, potentially alienating these users.

Implementation tactics

To effectively integrate Advanced Captcha into your platform, consider the following implementation tactics:

• Employing third-party Captcha services: One of the most convenient methods of incorporating Advanced Captcha security measures is by integrating third-party services with extensive experience in bot prevention. These services often provide comprehensive solutions, including development tools, management portals, and reports for tuning and maintaining the Captcha challenges.

  
  

• Customizing Captchas for your platform: In order to minimize friction for genuine users, develop custom Captcha challenges that are specifically tailored to your platform's user base, brand, and targeted fraud profiles. This approach ensures that Captcha challenges maintain a balance between user experience and strong bot prevention, while also reducing the chance of triggering accessibility issues.

  
  

Strategy 3: IP Geolocation and Impossible Travel

What is IP Geolocation and Impossible Travel?

IP Geolocation is a technique used to determine the geographical location of an internet-connected device based on its IP address. It provides valuable insights into user behavior and can be used to detect suspicious activity, such as credential stuffing attacks.

Impossible Travel is a risk-analysis technique that identifies improbable time-based patterns and discrepancies in user access behavior. For example, if a user logs in from New York and then from London within a few minutes, it may be considered impossible travel, indicating that an attacker might be using stolen credentials to access the account.

By combining IP Geolocation and Impossible Travel analysis, businesses can better detect potential credential stuffing attacks and take preventative measures to protect their users.

How does it work?

• Detecting geographical location: IP Geolocation works by analyzing the IP address of the device used for a user's login attempt. It utilizes IP databases, such as those maintained by regional internet registries, to associate the IP address with an approximate geographic location.

  
  

• Identifying improbable time/location patterns: Impossible Travel employs algorithms to analyze login attempts and detect suspicious patterns. For instance, a login attempt from a distant location, occurring shortly after another login from the user's typical location, would indicate a potential credential stuffing attempt.

  
  

Pros & Cons

• Pros: IP Geolocation and Impossible Travel analysis offer a powerful way to prevent credential stuffing attacks that utilize proxy networks and VPNs. By detecting irregular access patterns and taking appropriate action, businesses can effectively protect their users from unauthorized access.

  
  

• Cons: One of the challenges associated with these techniques is the prevalence of VPN and proxy usage by legitimate users. Some people rely on these tools for privacy reasons or to bypass geographic restrictions. As a result, their genuine login attempts might get flagged as suspicious, causing inconvenience or loss of access, if not properly managed.

  
  

Implementation tactics

To implement IP Geolocation and Impossible Travel analysis in your Fiserv or FinTech environment, businesses can follow these steps:

1. Integration of IP Geolocation APIs: Several IP Geolocation service providers offer APIs that allow businesses to easily integrate their services with existing applications. By using these APIs, businesses can parse and analyze the IP addresses associated with login attempts to determine their approximate geographic locations.

   
   

2. Developing an internal monitoring system for travel pattern analysis: Businesses can create a custom solution by logging user login locations and timestamps, then analyzing these data points to identify suspicious patterns. Algorithms can be developed to detect implausible travel scenarios, such as a user logging in from two distant locations within an improbable time frame.

   
   

3. Implementing mitigation measures: Based on the analysis, businesses can take appropriate action to protect their users. This may include enforcing additional authentication steps, temporarily locking the account, or notifying the user of a potential security issue. Businesses should also consider developing a process for handling false positives to minimize inconvenience for genuine users.

   
   

By embracing IP Geolocation and Impossible Travel analysis techniques, Fiserv and FinTech professionals can effectively combat credential stuffing attacks and protect their users while navigating the challenges associated with VPN and proxy usage.

Strategy 4: Headless Browser and Automation Framework Detection

What is Headless Browser and Automation Framework Detection

Headless Browser and Automation Framework Detection is a cybersecurity measure that involves identifying and blocking attempts made by cybercriminals to use headless browsers and automation frameworks for conducting credential stuffing attacks. A headless browser is essentially a web browser without a user interface. These browsers are often used in conjunction with automation frameworks, which enable cybercriminals to automate tasks like entering credentials and bypassing security measures on websites and applications, leading to credential stuffing attacks.

How does it work

The core concept behind headless browser and automation framework detection is to identify the telltale signs or "signatures" that these types of browsers and platforms often leave behind while interacting with a web service. By detecting these signatures, security systems can effectively disrupt the fraudsters' technical capabilities, thus hindering their attempts to conduct credential stuffing attacks.

There are a few ways by which this detection can be done:

• Monitoring anomalies in user behavior patterns: Headless browsers and automation frameworks often follow specific patterns when interacting with a website or application that differ from genuine human users.
• Examining request headers: These browsers and frameworks may use distinct request headers, which can be easily detected by security systems.
• Checking JavaScript execution: Certain JavaScript functionalities may not work correctly or be disabled on headless browsers, which can be detected by analyzing the JavaScript execution.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

1. Blocking automated bot attacks: By detecting headless browsers and automation frameworks, security systems can effectively block a significant number of automated bot attempts, reducing the overall risk of credential stuffing.
2. Hindering phishing campaigns: Many phishing campaigns rely on headless browsers and automation frameworks to compromise user credentials. Detection of these tools can contribute to the overall phishing prevention strategy.

Cons:

1. Rapid advancements in headless browsers and automation technology: Cybercriminals are always trying to improve their attack techniques and tools. As such, headless browsers and automation frameworks are constantly evolving, which can make detection more challenging.
2. The possibility of false positives: In some cases, legitimate users may be using headless browsers or automation tools for non-malicious purposes. Identifying a signature and blocking them might lead to false positives.

Implementation tactics

To implement headless browser and automation framework detection in a Fiserv or FinTech environment, consider the following tactics:

1. Employ cybersecurity vendor solutions: Some cybersecurity vendors offer specialized products designed to detect and block headless browser and automation framework activity. Evaluate and integrate these solutions with your security infrastructure to enhance your defenses against credential stuffing attacks.
2. Train machine learning models for signature detection: Machine learning algorithms can be used to analyze user behavior patterns, request headers, and JavaScript executions to identify signatures of headless browsers and automation frameworks. By training these models with robust data sets and updating them frequently, your security systems can become more effective in detecting and blocking such malicious activities.

Strategy 5: Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) and Phone Verification

What is MFA and Phone Verification

Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) is a powerful security mechanism that requires users to authenticate themselves using two or more distinct methods before they can access their accounts or resources. Phone verification, an essential component of MFA, verifies the user's control of a registered phone number by sending a One-Time Passcode (OTP) to the user's device via SMS or Voice call.

How does it work

Implementing MFA with phone verification entails generating an OTP sent to the user's registered phone number. The OTP is then inputted alongside their traditional username and password credentials to complete the authentication process. Phone verification serves as an additional security layer, making it significantly more challenging for cybercriminals to compromise user accounts, even if they have obtained the username and password.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Added security layer: MFA and phone verification provide an extra security layer that substantially reduces the chances of account compromise. Even if cybercriminals obtain a user's password, they will be unable to access the account without the OTP sent to the user's device. Thus, MFA successfully hinders most credential stuffing attacks.

  
  

• Reducing susceptibility to phishing: MFA makes the phishing process more complicated for fraudsters, as obtaining the user's password alone becomes insufficient for account access. This added complexity often discourages attackers, forcing them to look for other, more susceptible targets.

  
  

Cons:

• Authentication delays: MFA can increase the time it takes for users to log in to their accounts, due to OTP generation and input. This added step may cause minor inconvenience and impatience in some situations, especially if the OTP delivery is delayed.

  
  

• Potential inconvenience: MFA can cause complications in scenarios where users are unable to access their registered phone numbers or are in locations with poor cellular signal, making it challenging or impossible for them to receive the OTP.

  
  

Implementation tactics

To implement MFA and phone verification as part of your Fiserv or FinTech organization's cybersecurity strategy, consider the following methods:

• Integration of third-party MFA systems or APIs: Numerous cybersecurity vendors offer MFA and phone verification solutions that can be integrated into your organization's existing systems. These solutions typically provide APIs or software development kits (SDKs) that simplify the implementation process. Examples of such services include Authy, Duo Security, and Google Authenticator.

  
  

• Building in-house phone verification mechanisms: If your organization prefers to have more control over the MFA process or has unique integration requirements, building an in-house phone verification system might be the best choice. In-house solutions have the advantage of full customization, allowing for seamless incorporation into the organization's existing infrastructure and user experience. However, keep in mind that this route requires more investment and ongoing maintenance responsibilities compared to utilizing third-party solutions.

  
  

Final Thoughts and Next Steps

As Fiserv and FinTech professionals, it is crucial to take a holistic approach when combating credential stuffing attacks. Implementing the previously discussed strategies – device and browser fingerprinting, advanced captcha, IP geolocation and impossible travel, headless browser and automation framework detection, and multi-factor authentication and phone verification – will significantly reduce the risk posed by these attacks.

However, it is essential to continuously keep up-to-date with new developments in cybercriminal tactics and tools. Regularly review your security measures and update them accordingly to maintain a solid defense against credential stuffing.

Some additional recommendations for next steps in enhancing your company's security posture include:

• Employee training: Educate employees on the risks associated with credential stuffing and the importance of following security best practices. This will help create a security-conscious culture within your organization.

  
  

• Collaboration with industry peers: Sharing information and best practices with other Fiserv and FinTech professionals can help collectively improve the industry's defense against credential stuffing and other cyber threats.

  
  

• Monitor your third-party service providers: Ensure that your partners and service providers implement robust security measures and follow industry-standard best practices. Their security posture can directly impact your organization's vulnerability to attacks.

  
  

• Invest in advanced threat intelligence: Leverage real-time threat intelligence to stay informed of the latest attack patterns, tools, and methodologies used by cybercriminals. This knowledge will empower your organization to proactively adapt its defenses.

  
  

Remember, a proactive and well-rounded cybersecurity strategy is crucial to protecting your organization from credential stuffing attacks and other cyber threats in the Fiserv and FinTech industries. Staying informed and continuously evolving your security measures is key to maintaining a strong defense.