What defines a watering hole attack?

What defines a watering hole attack?

• A. A method targeting users of a commonly known website that has malicious content
• B. A physical surveillance tactic used to monitor individuals
• C. A technique involving direct phishing attacks to steal credentials
• D. A malware installed directly onto user devices

Answer: (A)

A watering hole attack is defined by the method of targeting users of a commonly known website that has been compromised to deliver malicious content. The strategy involves the attacker identifying a specific group of individuals or organizations and then compromising websites that are frequently visited by those users. By infecting these trustworthy sites with malware, the attackers are able to leverage the users’ trust in those sites to deliver malicious payloads when the victims visit them, thereby gaining access to the victims' systems or data. This technique is particularly insidious because it relies on the assumption that users are less vigilant about the websites they frequently visit, which are typically perceived as safe. By exploiting this trust, attackers can successfully infiltrate the network of their target group without needing to directly interact with them or engage in more obvious phishing techniques. In contrast, the other choices describe different attack vectors or tactics that do not align with the specific definition of a watering hole attack.

A watering hole attack is defined by the method of targeting users of a commonly known website that has been compromised to deliver malicious content. The strategy involves the attacker identifying a specific group of individuals or organizations and then compromising websites that are frequently visited by those users. By infecting these trustworthy sites with malware, the attackers are able to leverage the users’ trust in those sites to deliver malicious payloads when the victims visit them, thereby gaining access to the victims' systems or data.

This technique is particularly insidious because it relies on the assumption that users are less vigilant about the websites they frequently visit, which are typically perceived as safe. By exploiting this trust, attackers can successfully infiltrate the network of their target group without needing to directly interact with them or engage in more obvious phishing techniques.

In contrast, the other choices describe different attack vectors or tactics that do not align with the specific definition of a watering hole attack.