What is a Compromised Account?
A compromised account occurs when an attacker gains unauthorized access to a legitimate user’s email or system credentials. Once inside, the attacker can send fraudulent messages, steal sensitive data, or spread malware using the victim’s trusted identity. In email security, compromised accounts are one of the most common sources of phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks.
Unlike spoofing, where attackers forge a sender’s address, compromised accounts involve real, authenticated logins. This makes them harder to detect because emails appear to come from a verified domain or individual.
Threat actors use a variety of tactics to obtain credentials or bypass authentication controls, including:
Once an account is compromised, attackers can exploit it to:
In many cases, mailbox providers detect unusual activity and temporarily suspend or flag the account. However, without centralized visibility, organizations may not notice the compromise until damage has occurred.
Preventive measures include enforcing strong password policies, implementing MFA, and monitoring authentication logs for unusual IP addresses or sending behavior. Security frameworks like DMARC and SPF can help prevent attackers from exploiting compromised accounts to impersonate domains externally.
DMARCeye identifies anomalies in mail authentication patterns that may indicate a compromised account. By analyzing sender IPs, DKIM selectors, and message origins, it detects unauthorized or suspicious activity even when emails pass authentication checks.
This early detection allows administrators to isolate affected accounts, reset credentials, and restore trust quickly before further abuse occurs.
Sign up for a free trial of DMARCeye today and secure your email domain.
To learn more about DMARC and DMARC-related terms, explore the DMARCeye Glossary.