Identity security
Password spraying vs. brute force: what does the evidence show?
Learn the difference between one password across many accounts and many guesses against one account, and how to scope a sign-in alert.
The short answer
Password spraying typically tries a small number of common passwords across many accounts; a targeted brute-force attempt tries many candidate passwords against one account. Distributed sources and low per-account failure counts can make spraying less obvious.
Read across accounts, not just IP addresses
Example: 300 users each see one failed attempt in a short period. Look for shared timing, client properties, targeted usernames, and success events. An attacker may distribute traffic across addresses; a shared source can also be a legitimate gateway.
Check whether any password validation succeeded and what happened afterward. A burst of failures alone cannot prove an account was compromised.
Triage and response
Scope the affected accounts, preserve sign-in logs, verify success and MFA signals, and prioritize accounts with confirmed suspicious sessions. Strengthen weak-password controls and access policies; avoid broad lockouts before understanding the pattern.
Make the call yourself
The investigation is a fictional, simulated learning scenario. Work through the evidence before reading the outcome.
Practice authentication triage →Further reading
External references support the concepts; examples on CyberTap are original learning simulations.