Detecting brute-force attempts on your Power Pages or web applications is crucial to safeguarding against unauthorized access and ensuring the integrity of your portal. Brute-force attacks typically involve automated attempts to guess passwords or access keys by repeatedly trying different combinations. Implementing detection and mitigation strategies helps protect your users and data.
Here are several methods to detect and prevent brute-force attempts:
1. Limit Login Attempts
Implementing a limit on the number of failed login attempts within a given time frame can be one of the most effective ways to detect and mitigate brute-force attempts.
- Feature in Power Pages: You can use custom JavaScript or Power Automate to lock out or temporarily block users after a specific number of failed login attempts.
- Delay Mechanism: Introduce a delay after multiple failed attempts (e.g., 5 seconds after 3 attempts) to slow down brute-force attacks.
2. IP Rate Limiting
Monitoring the number of login attempts from a single IP address can help detect suspicious activity. If an IP address is making repeated login attempts in a short amount of time, it might be a brute-force attack.
- Tools like Azure Application Gateway and API Management allow you to configure rate-limiting policies to detect excessive login attempts from the same IP.
- Dataverse Logs: Review logs in Power Platform and Dataverse to identify patterns where the same IP or user is trying multiple failed attempts.
3. Account Lockout Mechanism
Implement an account lockout mechanism after a specific number of failed login attempts. This is a very common security measure that helps in reducing brute-force attacks.
- Lock the account for a set period after 5 to 10 failed login attempts or until the user resets their password.
- This can be done using Azure AD B2C or other authentication services integrated with Power Pages.
4. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
By requiring users to provide a second form of authentication (e.g., a phone number, email verification, or authentication app), brute-force attempts become much harder because knowing the password alone will not be enough.
- Azure AD B2C provides an easy way to configure 2FA for your Power Pages portal users.
- Enabling 2FA on sensitive portals adds an extra layer of security, making brute-force attempts ineffective even if attackers manage to guess the password.
5. CAPTCHA Integration
Implement CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA during the login process. CAPTCHAs are a great way to block automated brute-force bots from attempting multiple logins. Even if the bot is trying to automate the process, it will not be able to solve the CAPTCHA challenge.
- Use Google reCAPTCHA or other CAPTCHA services to prevent bots from engaging in brute-force attacks.
6. Monitor and Review Logs for Suspicious Behavior
Reviewing authentication and security logs is essential for detecting brute-force attempts.
- Application Insights: Enable Application Insights to monitor and log failed login attempts, unusual patterns of login attempts, or any other suspicious activities.
- Azure AD Logs: If using Azure AD for authentication, you can also enable detailed logging and monitoring to detect brute-force attacks by identifying a spike in failed login attempts across your portal.
7. Implement Account Lockout Notifications
Set up notifications to alert administrators or security personnel when a brute-force attempt is detected or when multiple failed login attempts are observed.
- Use Power Automate or Logic Apps to trigger alerts when specific thresholds are met (e.g., more than 5 failed login attempts within 5 minutes).
- Send email notifications or create a task in a security system to act on the alert.
8. Behavioral Analysis
By tracking user behavior, you can identify unusual activity that could indicate a brute-force attack.
- AI and machine learning algorithms can be used to track and flag suspicious login behavior, such as a high volume of failed login attempts from the same IP address or device.
- Consider integrating AI-based security tools for detecting abnormal patterns of user behavior.
9. Use a Web Application Firewall (WAF)
A Web Application Firewall (WAF) can be used to block suspicious traffic, including brute-force attacks, by examining the incoming traffic to your portal.
- Azure Front Door and Application Gateway are two Azure services that provide WAF capabilities.
- Set up custom rules for blocking IP addresses or specific patterns of attack.
10. Password Policies
Enforce strong password policies to make brute-force attacks more difficult.
- Require users to have strong passwords with a mix of characters, numbers, and symbols.
- Enable password expiration to prevent long-term exploitation of compromised passwords.
11. User Activity Monitoring
Detect abnormal patterns of user activity, such as logging in from multiple different IP addresses in a short period, which may indicate a bot trying various passwords.
- Power Platform Monitoring tools can help identify when users are accessing the portal from different locations or devices.
12. Security Alerts and Auto-Blocking
Configure automatic security alerts based on certain threshold events, such as:
- More than a set number of failed logins.
- A specific IP address or geographical location trying multiple logins.
13. Bot Protection Using Managed Services
You can integrate bot protection services that use machine learning to identify automated login attempts.
- Services such as Azure Bot Protection or Cloudflare Bot Management can help detect and block bot traffic from attempting brute-force login attacks.
14. Passwordless Authentication
For higher security, consider enabling passwordless authentication (e.g., with a secure app or biometric authentication), which can eliminate the possibility of password-based brute-force attacks.
- Azure AD B2C supports passwordless authentication using Microsoft Authenticator, FIDO2, and Windows Hello.
15. Geo-Blocking and VPN Restrictions
If brute-force attempts are originating from a specific region or an unexpected geographic location, consider using geo-blocking to restrict access or request additional verification for users from specific countries or regions.
- This can be implemented via WAF or Azure AD Conditional Access policies.