What Is Formjacking and How Do You Protect Your Passwords From It?

What are the top two types of cyberattacks mentioned in the news? The first one that probably crossed your mind is ransomware, and that's hardly surprising. Aside from the fact that it is a widespread attack, the concept of holding innocent users' files hostage until a ransom is paid is appealing to mainstream outlets trying to sell the news. Cryptojacking is likely on your list too. The cryptocurrency madness from a few years ago gave cryptojacking a massive boost, and the media is still trying to get people's heads up.

There is one threat that doesn't get nearly as much attention as cryptojacking or ransomware, but it is unfortunate as users should be aware of it. It's called formjacking, and while you may have heard about it for the first time, keep in mind that it's just as dangerous as any other form of cybercrime.

What is formjacking?

The term " formjacking " is a symbol for " online form " and " hijacking ". It usually targets checkout pages on e-commerce websites where people enter their credit card details or other financial information. However, the attack can also be used to steal usernames and passwords in login forms. One of the main advantages is that it is difficult to see. Ordinary users have no way of knowing that their finances or credentials are getting into the hands of cybercriminals, and the website owner who inadvertently facilitated the attack is often the wiser too.

In most cases, hackers exploited a vulnerability or used stolen website administrator credentials to inject malicious code into the targeted online form. The code searches personal information, credentials, and credit card information and sends anything that is stolen to a server controlled by the attackers. However, it also ensures that the site is working as intended and that login attempts and payments are going smoothly. That way, both users and the website administrator are less likely to suspect something.

Is formjacking common?

It's more common than you might think. Researchers at F5 Labs recently created a large number of data breach reports and examined them to identify and learn more about the latest trends in the world of cybercrime. It found that more than 70% of the web-based attacks they analyzed were conducted using formjacking.

The researchers examined a total of 80 formjacking attacks and found that the number of compromised cards was below 1.4 million. These numbers prove that it is a real threat, causing real harm and affecting a lot of people.

Why do cybercriminals love formjacking?

As you can see, this is an efficient way to steal sensitive data. As the experts from F5 Labs pointed out in their report, the increasingly decentralized web makes the work of attackers even easier.

In the past, a website or web application was a single thing hosted on a single server and created and maintained by a single development team. This is no longer the case. Most modern websites use multiple technological solutions that are maintained by many different providers and hosted around the world. On the one hand, this increases the attack surface. On the other hand, hackers can hit many birds with a single stone.

Instead of hacking the registration forms or payment pages of individual websites, the crooks can target the companies that offer this type of service. In this way, a single successful attack can affect hundreds of websites and potentially millions of users.

How can you combat formjacking?

Formjacking has another benefit that hackers love - there's not much you can do about it. As mentioned earlier, this type of attack is completely invisible to most users, and for various reasons website owners and third-party vendors sometimes cannot or do not take the necessary precautions to ensure that attackers are unable to tamper with their code.

Update your computer with the best antivirus to prevent formjacking.

We hope that vendors will see real progress in this area soon. Until then, you need to keep an eye on your online and bank accounts and act quickly if you discover anything suspicious. Create strong, unique passwords for all websites you use and use multi-factor authentication whenever possible. This could be enough to protect you from a formjacking attack.