SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTING AND REACTING TO MALICIOUS ACTIVITY IN COMPUTER NETWORKS

Described herein are systems and methods for performing potentially malicious activity detection operations. Embodiments may include receiving data associated with a plurality of authentication messages; analyzing the received data associated with the plurality of authentication messages; determining, based on the analyzing, a plurality of characteristics of the data associated with the authentication messages; receiving data associated with a new authentication message communicated over the network; determining a plurality of characteristics of the data associated with the new authentication message; comparing at least one determined characteristic of the new authentication message data with at least one of: a determined characteristic of the plurality of authentication messages data, known valid data, and known invalid data; and generating, based on the comparison, an assessment of whether the new authentication message is indicative of the potentially malicious activity in the network.