No Exploit Needed: How Attackers Walk Through the Front Door via Identity-Based Attacks

Identity-based attacks using stolen credentials remain the dominant initial access vector for attackers, bypassing defenses without exploits.

• •Stolen credentials from breaches, password spraying, and phishing enable attacks indistinguishable from normal employee logins
• •AI accelerates credential testing, phishing, and attack automation faster than traditional incident response can handle
• •The Dynamic Approach to Incident Response (DAIR) treats investigations as iterative loops adapting to emerging information
• •Cross-team communication among SOC, cloud, IR, and systems groups is the most critical success factor
• •Organizations must invest in hands-on training on attacker tactics, tools, and forensic evidence analysis