The Artful and Dangerous Dynamics of Watering Hole Attacks
A group of researchers recently published findings of an exploitation of multiple iPhone vulnerabilities using websites to infect final targets. The key concept behind this type of attack is the use of trusted websites as an intermediate platform to attack others, and it’s defined as a watering hole attack.
How Does it Work?
Your organization is an impenetrable fortress that has implemented every single cybersecurity measure. Bad actors are having a hard time trying to compromise your systems. But what if the weakest link is not your organization, but a third-party? That is where an “island hopping” attack can take apart your fortress.
“Island hopping” was a military strategy aimed to concentrate efforts on strategically positioned (and weaker) islands to gain access to a final main land target.
One relevant instance of “island hopping” is a watering hole attack. A watering hole attack is motivated by an attackers’ frustration. If they cannot get to a target, maybe they can compromise a weaker secondary one to gain access to the intended one? Employees in an organization interact with third-party websites and services all the time. It could be with a provider, an entity in the supply chain, or even with a publicly available website. Even though your organization may have cutting edge security perimeter protection, the third parties you interact with may not.
In this type of attack, bad actors start profiling employees to find out what websites/services they usually consume. What is the most frequented news blog? Which flight company do they prefer? Which service provider do they use to check pay stubs? What typ ..
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