watering hole attack steps

watering hole attack steps

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. However, the attacker does not target the victim directly. We can do things like take a screenshot, and we can see what they see on their screen. The attack was on users downloading from the site. They often collect usernames and passwords for launching credential-stuffing attacks on targeted applications, sites and organizations. During this download the security solution checks for malware presence. Complete the updates as soon as they are available. So, keep these tips in mind and make cyber security a priority to shield your organization against the vicious attacks by cyber criminals. A watering hole attack is not something new, but its frequency has increased in recent days and Forbes has listed watering hole attacks among the top security threats of 2022with ransomware, phishing, and various other malicious attacks. When it comes to your enterprise security always go by the adage, Never trust, Always Verify!. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. As we modernize and add more components to our tech stack, what arises is the opportunities for outage and security threats. So what Im actually doing is exploiting cross-site scripting via an iframe which leads to, over a while, it being a watering hole attack. 2. (3:404:26) Lets go ahead and look at it from the victims perspective. Hackers do threat intelligence on targets about what type of website they are visiting. How to carry out a watering hole attack: Examples and video walkthrough. You must have witnessed this kind of attack in the animal kingdom, where a crocodile may find it difficult to hunt its prey while it is grazing in the field, but it can easily get hold of the preys neck when the prey comes to drink water in the watering hole. As we move forward in innovation and digital transformation, it is always suggested to stay informed about the latest cyber security threats. That's why one of the best ways to defend against the threat is to prevent them entirely by raising awareness. Watering hole attacks exploit vulnerabilities in your software to infiltrate your devices. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Several Vietnamese newspapers plus other blog websites. Unlike many forms of web-based attacks, these attacks are personalized for . Cybercriminals looking to make economic gains focus on public favorite consumer websites amongst the users. In order to attack a watering well, the adversary follows these steps: 1. There is hardly any industry we might come across wherein the computers are not being used. Prevention Internet is a must for everyday activity. Instead, individuals and organizations should take preventative steps. Another possibility is accidentally unzipping a potentially harmful attachment while on the companys network. Lets see what this gave us. Here are the following possible steps that you can take to protect your enterprise from watering hole attacks! Watering hole attack is not uncommon among cybercriminals because sometimes it is difficult for attackers to target specific website . protect against browser and application attacks, Clean Desk Policy Template (Free Download), The Importance of Responsible Digital Citizenship, The Difference Between the Private and Public Sector, Bluetooth Credit Card Skimmers: Everything You Need to Know, Homemade Card Skimming Now Possible with MagSpoof, Email Policy Guidelines: A Must-Have in Your Company. Keep the Systems Updated: Keep all your hardware and software up-to-date with the latest security updates and patches. Be aware of all the requests for information Watering hole attacks are usually conducted against companies that have high security on their employee email accounts and Internet access. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The edited transcript of Keatron's watering hole attack walkthrough is provided below, along with a portion of the code he uses. And that means the attacker now has access to the victims computer because they visited that site. ISO 9001 Certified for Quality Management System! In this article at the Hacker News, Ravie Lakshmanan shares more details on how the Florida water plant system was hacked. This requires knowledge of all the prevalent and emerging cyber attack vectors being used by the threat actors. (0:000:44) Were going to look at how to go step by step through a watering hole attack. Step 4: The hackers can now exploit the malware infection to initiate malicious activities. Watering hole attacks often exploit security gaps and vulnerabilities to infiltrate computers and networks. Why your company should prioritize security vulnerabilities by severity, Theres no such thing as done with application security, Understanding hackers: The insider threat, Understanding hackers: The 5 primary types of external attackers, Want to improve the security of your application? Then Im going to log in, and lets just pretend this is any site you visit frequently. 1. This watering hole definition takes its name from animal predators that lurk by watering holes waiting for an opportunity to attack prey when their guard is down. Providing your staff with proper, is the best way of creating a cyber resilient work environment. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. These so called "watering hole" attacks are often a first step in a campaign to insert malicious software into the systems of government officials or business leaders visiting the website . The goal behind the attack is to compromise the target set of users. Watering hole attacks are usually conducted against companies that have high security on their employee email accounts and Internet access. In order to spread the malware, it only infected visitors who were affiliated with firms affiliated with 104 organizations spread across 31 countries. So lets go ahead and dive into it. The victim decides to go look at the same area of the site, and just from loading the page, you can see the iframe that I planted earlier load there. If needed, you can also get in touch with a trusted managed service provider so they can ensure your systems are always up-to-date. What is a watering hole attack, how do they work and what can you do to defend against them? Step 3: Doing this, they manage to infect the system of the target with malware. 5 Deadliest Ransomware Gangs Terrorizing Organizations Worldwide, Woman loses Rs. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Watering hole attacks are on the rise, but many businesses are still unprepared against it. Once the cybercriminals have compromised a website, they wait patiently till they can get targets to their malicious net. Now, I am not affected by it because my browser is not affected by this vulnerability. So, watering hole cybersecurity is a prime concern to organizations to detect. Once we connect to that session, we now have complete control of that victims machine. meterpreter > screenshot. Check out our Cyber Work Applied page for more walkthroughs like this from Keatron and other Infosec Skills authors on topics such as: Jeff Peters is a communications professional with more than a decade of experience creating cybersecurity-related content. And these attacks usually happen in the form of social engineering attacks, requesting your users to provide their sensitive information. Copyright 2022 AVASOFT. Think like a hacker, Why you should build security into your system, rather than bolt it on, Why a skills shortage is one of the biggest security challenges for companies. Cyber criminals keep coming up with new ways to scam individuals and organizations globally out of their money and data. Were going to play the part of a victim that just happens to be going to visit that same site. 5. First, the attacker identifies a website or service that the intended victim already uses and is familiar with. Organizations are brazing themselves with firewalls to screen incoming emails, downloads, and also the fake email ids. +91 950 002 0440. Health checks like penetration testing, business impact assessments, and risk assessments will help you locate the areas of concern so you can quickly dive in and fix the issue. Windows happily says, Okay, no problem. C:\Windows\system32>net localgroup administrators infosec /ADD. Likewise, watering hole attackers lurk on niche websites . First of all, an attacker profiles his target by industry, job title, etc. Similar to that here cybercriminals compromise the website that is frequently visited by the users and lure them to a malicious website. Having web gateways will provide the detection layer capabilities matching the signature of the websites. The first step in opportunistic watering hole attacks is identifying the website or service most frequently used by the intended victim. A watering hole attack involves a chain of events initiated by an attacker to gain access to a victim. Thats my iframe. A social engineering technique that needs to be understood well in order to prevent the threat. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. We use those for a lot of different things. . 3. There should be no difference between data coming from a partner web property versus a well-known online directory. Watering hole attacks are one of the most dangerous cybersecurity issues because victims can be compromised simply by visiting a legitimate website. When the users visit the maliciously infected site, the users computes are infected and cybercriminals get access to the individuals laptop or network. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Follow these tips for watering hole attack prevention to keep you and your information safe and secure. The attackers follow the websites that are frequented by a group of targeted users and identify the vulnerabilities associated with that website. Cybercriminals normally use Adobe Reader, Flash, Microsofts Internet Explorer, and JRE (Java Runtime Environment). The attacker pinpoints targets and identifies websites that the intended targets visit frequently. Do you have any more suggestions for preventing watering hole attacks? In these attacks, hackers create new sites or compromise legitimate applications and websites using difficult and zero-day exploits with no antivirus signatures, ensuring a high attack success rate. Make it a habit to check the software developer's website for any security patches. Step 2: Then, the threat actors either create a new website or look for any vulnerabilities in the existing applications and websites to inject malicious code, which redirects the users to a malicious site. Below are a few instances where organizations faced water hole attacks. msf exploit(msll_050_mshtml_cobjectelement) > ifconfig. For example, if I were to go to a command shell and check my permissions here, you can see that Im just a regular user. What is a watering hole attack in social engineering? At this point, I can do something like this to create a user. Then we just wait for people to come cash in for us. You can significantly reduce the risk of an attack by regularly updating all of your software and browsers. One of the popular attack vectors being adopted by the hackers these days is watering hole attacks. Generally, an attack will operate as follows: Step 1 | Targets are identified. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. : Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) across all the applicable endpoints of your organizations networks. Required fields are marked *. Organizations use watering hole cybersecurity tools to detect watering hole domains. Reports indicate that hackers exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Flash and Internet Explorer in order to sabotage the Forbes Thought of the day section. Senior threat researcher Nart Villeneuve documented the use of the watering hole technique . So prevention is the option left for individuals and organizations. But sometimes, the simplest tasks can slip our minds. As long as there is the usage of the internet and communication channels via email, and instant messaging exist there are chances for water hole attacks. In this episode of Cyber Work Applied, Keatron walks through a real watering hole attack example. Ltd. is the trusted standard for companies and individuals acquiring services to protect their brands, business and dignity from baffling Cyber attacks. With cyber crimes rising every day, organizations around the world are striving to stay ahead of this growing threat. They are invisible and operate subtly and hardly get noticed. The victim goes over to visit that same site that we always visit. Then on that site, well find a cross-site scripting vulnerability and plant a pointer that points back to our malicious site. Make it a habit to check the software developer's website for any security patches. The best way to avoid it is by keeping your system updated with the latest security patches! 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watering hole attack steps