account hijacking
Unauthorized profile takeover
Account hijacking is the unauthorized takeover of someone's online account—email, social media, banking, or other services.
Attackers gain access through stolen passwords, phishing, or security vulnerabilities, then lock out the legitimate owner: Her Instagram was hit by account hijacking; they changed the password and started posting crypto scams.
The term emphasizes seizure of control rather than mere unauthorized access.
- hackerUnauthorized system accessor
- bad actorMalevolent participant
- phishingFraudulent credential harvesting
- passwordAuthentication string
- credential stuffingAutomated stolen login testing
brute force attack · breach · stolen · data breach · identity · identity theft · credentials · compromise · takeover · unauthorized · malware · security · login · exploit · cyberattack · intrusion · theft · impersonation
- cyber threatsmalware, phishing, hacking, virus, ransomware
- cybercrimehacking, phishing, malware, ransomware, data breach
- cybercrimeshacking, phishing, malware, ransomware, data breach
- hijackingskyjacking, carjacking, commandeering, air piracy, armed takeover
- Security Attackshacking, intrusion, phishing, spoofing, brute force
account hijackingaccount security
Safeguards for user profiles
access control · identity protection · cybersecurity · fraud prevention · password protection
account hijackingaccount recovery
account, accounts, accounting, accounted, accountant, accountants, accountable, accountability, unaccountable