CYBER SECURITY 201:

WATERING HOLE ATTACKS

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Cyber criminals are seeing fewer results from spear phishing attacks because users are getting smarter about email

Instead of chasing their prey, these cyber criminals set a trap and wait for the prey to come to them

See how it works >

Attackers target an organization 1

2

3

4

Use tracking tools to find sites employees use

Plant malware on these sites

Identify vulnerabilities

5 Exploit is delivered to the target machine

HOW IT WORKS

5 Access targeted information

FIND TARGET  Cybercriminals identify a target organization, but may not be able to attack head-on due to hardened security.

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STEP 1

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FIND THE SITES THEY USE These attackers use common internet tracking tools like AddThis and KISSMetrics to identify sites frequently visited by employees of their target company

STEP 2

PLANT MALWARE Then, they plant malware on these sites and wait for users to visit.

STEP 3

1 IDENTIFY VULNERABILITIES Malicious content scans user machines for exploitable vulnerabilities like outdated anti-virus and browsers. The user’s computer phones home to the attacker with vulnerabilities.

STEP 4

1

EXPLOIT

EXPLOIT DELIVERED The exploit is delivered to the target machine.

STEP 5

ACCESS TARGET INFORMATION  

Steal intellectual property or gain access to sensitive information

Insert malware into the source code of a company like Apple or Facebook

Steal financial data to commit fraud or sell the information to criminals

STEP 6

Third party web analytics and tracking services know which websites people visit and which links they click

Legitimate websites are used effectively to deliver malware because they aren’t blacklisted

Zero day vulnerabilities, undetectable by anti-virus, are exploited by sophisticated and well-funded criminals such as the Elderwood group

WHY IT WORKS

Identify and block the tracking services that are monitoring the activity of your employees

PROTECTION TIP 1

Use browser plug-ins that block HTTP redirects

PROTECTION TIP 2

Enable automatic updates for web browsers

PROTECTION TIP 3

Maintain visibility over all tracking services in use to identify and block new services

PROTECTION TIP 4

GET MORE DETAILS & TIPS

Download the 4-Step Guide to Cloud Data Security to learn about the new attack vectors & how to protect your company http://bit.ly/4StepGuide

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