2022 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Even though watering hole attacksarent the most common of cyberattacks, theyre no less destructive. All Rights Reserved. However, to increase success rates APT campaigns can use zero-day exploits, so even a properly patched system would be compromised. Alternatively, the attacker can lure victim (s) to a website they create. When this file runs, it downloads a payload from uyghurweb.net/player/gmuweb.exe and executes it. For individual users, water holing can be prevented, to a large extent, by having a robust antivirus scanner and firewall in place. Thecybercriminal gains unauthorized access to sensitive information or, The cybercriminal carries out fraudulentacts such as. A user who has the misfortune of visiting any of these compromised sites will then have their device automatically loaded with malware. To avoid falling victim to a watering hole attack, it is crucial to know what it is, understand the risks, and take steps to defend your business. Additionally, keep an antivirus scanner, such as Norton 360, installed and updated on your devices at all times. Therefore, watering hole attacks are a significant threat to organizations and users that do not follow security best practices. A watering hole attack is a type of cyber attack, where an attacker observes the websites victim or a particular group visits on a regular basis, and infects those sites with malware. All this to say, no one wants to bea victim of a watering hole attack. Download from a wide range of educational material and documents. While the attack primarily focused on developers in these companies, it spread to other firms across industries, including auto manufacturers and U.S. government agencies. At VPNOverview, he writes about cybersecurity, cryptocurrencies and sports events. What is a DDoS Attack and How Do DDoS Attacks Work? Watering hole attacks have become more common in recent years and pose a serious threat to organizations everywhere. The following best practices will help organizations prevent their networks and users from falling prey to watering hole attacks: Major news organizationForbes was the victim of a watering hole attacklaunched by a Chinese hacking group in 2015. Resource Center; Blog; Communities; The attacker starts by profiling their targets, who are often employees of large organizations, government agencies, or human rights groups, and discover the types of websites they tend to visit most frequently. Social engineering refers to manipulating targets to obtain sensitive and personal information. Consider installing antivirussoftware on your devices to flag cyber threats. Victimsvisit the infected site and their devices are compromised, oftentimes bymalware being downloaded on their devices. The security of the target website is another important factor in identifying the watering hole. By Jen Miller-Osborn and Ryan Olson; September 19, 2014 at 3:30 PM; 1. Buccaneers (And All NFL Week 9 Games), If youre a large organization and the scale of the attack is large, you may want to, Identification of the target website or application, Analysis of the website or applications vulnerabilities, Infection of the website/application with a malicious payload, Luring of the targets to infected website/application using fake but realistic emails, Downloading and installation of the payload on the users device, Increase in frequency of emails directing users to a particular website/applications, Numerous and frequent pop-ups on the infected device, Unauthorized changes to security settings on your browser or device. However, some early signals users and organizations can watch out for are: Learn more in our written guide about identifying water holing. Category: Cybersecurity, Malware, Unit 42, Tags: Poison Ivy, Remote Administration Tool, th3bug, WildFire. Palo Alto Networks users should use our firewalls ability to block executable downloads unless the user specifically authorizes it. They were downloaded from one of the download URLs in the below table, but all had the same MD5 and C2 domain. They will often infect a website by injecting it with malicious Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or JavaScript code, which redirects victims to a particular, most likely spoofed website that hosts the attackers malware. The link could lead you to athird-party site infected with malware. Were wary of unfamiliar emails and texts to avoid phishing attacks, and we keep our software up to date to prevent malware. Watering hole attacks refer to a strategy where hackers infect websites frequently used by a particular target group. Therefore, watering hole attacks are typically used to attack sites, organizations, groups, and enterprises. Similarly, for cybercriminals, thiscan be one of the most effective ways to reach a large swath of victims. 1. This was an attack on the Ukrainian government that, according to the CIA, was performed by the Russian . To putthis into perspective, here are a few real-world watering hole attack examples: While watering hole attacks mightbe normal in the animal kingdom, they shouldnt be in the digital world. Make it a habit to check the software developer's website for any security patches. Now, the trap is set, and the hacker will wait for users to land on the site and activate the malicious code. A water holing attack involves a strategic attack on places or sites frequented by a target group. Sign up to receive the latest news, cyber threat intelligence and research from us. The threat, whichTrend Microresearchers discovered, downloaded a "gist" snippet from GitHub, modified the code to create an exploit, and used a multistage infection scheme that included a backdoor unknown to antivirus products. Watering hole attacks are particularly dangerous as they target weak links in a systems security chain. Advanced threat protection tools include behavioral analysis solutions, which give organizations a better chance of detecting zero-day exploits before attackers can target users. The digital attack campaign is somewhat similar to the cyber-attack revealed by Google's Threat Analysis Group at the start of November 2021. . Click here to read a summary of this article! Here are a few watering hole attacks that received significant public attention. FortiGuard Labs discovered a watering hole attack targeting the community of aU.S.-based Chinese news sitein August 2019. Predators camp out near such watering holes to make their hunt easier. Once the backdoor was installed, hackers could successfully execute various functions, including searching for files, executing programs, renaming and deleting files, and even starting or ending remote sessions. Watering hole attacks are relatively rare, but they continue to have a high success rate. The first stage checked the users IP to determine if they were from Cambodia or Vietnam. A watering hole attack has the potential to infect the members of the targeted victim group. Read our review of Norton 360 to learn more, or visit its website through the button below. A watering hole attack is a technique hackers used to compromise a specific group of end-users by infecting existing websites or creating a new one that would attract them. Read on to learn more about what watering hole attacks and how your business can stay one step ahead of cybercriminals. This is why were breaking down exactlywhat a watering hole attack is and tips for how to avoid watering hole attacksfrom the start. Yes, many water hole attacks are a form of social engineering. In a watering hole attack, cybercriminals observe the watering holes of a specific demographic and infect their targets' most visited websites with malware. A Watering Hole attack is a method in which the attacker seeks to compromise a specific group of end users by infecting websites that members of that group are known to visit. Watering hole attacks are on the rise, but many businesses are still unprepared against it. Make it a habit to check the software developer's website for any security patches. This helps them in determining which type of websites and applications are often visited by the targeted users or the employees of the targeted organization. The website is infiltrated with a malicious script that either redirects users toward malware or triggers its automatic download on the users device. Watering hole is a computer attack strategy in which an attacker guesses or observes which websites an organization often uses and infects one or more of them with malware.Eventually, some member of the targeted group will become infected. Followus to stayup to dateon our industry insights and unique IT learning opportunities. The most infamous watering hole attack in recent memory came to light in 2019, after targeting iPhone users within China's Uyghur Muslim community for two years. Some effective preventive measures are outlined in the next section. This can be used to target and surveil a certain community by installing a surveillance implant on their device, including phones. Name * Email . Arraya delivers the tools, talent, and technological expertise companies need to rise to the top of their field. I want to receive news and product emails. So the first step in any network defense is to keep all your systems, software, and Operation Systems updated to the latest version with all patches offered by vendors applied. Watering hole attacks are on the rise, but many businesses are still unprepared against it. To avoid falling victim to a watering hole attack, it is crucial to know what it is, understand the risks, and take steps to defend your business. A watering hole attack is a targetedcyberattack whereby a cybercriminal compromises a website or group of websitesfrequented by a specific group of people. Bodies tentatively identified as adults being.. You can significantly reduce the risk of an attack by regularly updating all of your software and browsers. FortiSandbox confines application actions to safe, isolated environments that analyze interactions and discover any malicious intent. Want to know more about how watering hole attacks work and how they can be detected? Although these may be as well known as ransomware, Forbes listed watering hole attacks in their top security threats of 2022. Only visit secure sites,meaning ones with HTTPS in the URL. Threat Brief: CVE-2022-41040 and CVE-2022-41082: Microsoft Exchange Server (ProxyNotShell) by Erica Naone. Watering hole attacks often exploit security gaps and vulnerabilities to infiltrate computers and networks. Religious communities, political party . In addition, it is the only sample tied to this activity we found that used the Poison Ivy password th3bug. Pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong were targeted by an unknown group using a watering hole attack. https://www.arrayasolutions.com/contact-us/, How to Leverage Microsofts Low-Code Tools You Probably Already Have, 5 Ways to Save in 5 Minutes: Licensing Rationalization, How to Build a Proactive Security Practicein 5 Steps, Microsoft Ignite 2022 Round-Up: Heres What You Missed, Cloud Computing Too Complex? The Fortinet cybersecurity suite helps organizations prevent advanced attacks and cyber espionage, avoid the risk of software vulnerabilities, and block sophisticated malware. Typically, attackers will target public websites frequented by professionals from specific industries, such as discussion boards, industry conferences, and industry-standard bodies. Taken together, the body of evidence supports multiple, strong connections between these recent watering hole attacks and the Aurora intrusions perpetrated in late 2009 against Google and a. They include crucial features like Internet Protocol (IP) mapping, packet filtering, IP security (IPsec), and secure sockets layer virtual private network (SSL VPN) support. Targeted industries for this series are listed below. As a result, the malware will only affect the sandbox rather than the devices and users connected to corporate networks. What are the steps you should take for remediation? It was only by accessing his account online.. Some watering hole attacks will see a cyber criminal deliver and install malware without the victim realizing it, commonly known as a drive-by attack. A recent watering-hole attack targeted firms in the energy sector using a compromised site belonging to a law firm that works with energy companies and led victims to a separate site that. The malware connected to private Slack channels to lure victims, which required sophisticated hacking techniques. The attacks have been adopted by criminals, APT groups, and nation-states alike, and we see the amounts . The survey found that a sophisticated Watering Hole attracted users from a given group to websites via an Android application and used four zero-day vulnerabilities in action. It exploited a zero-day vulnerability to install a backdoor, known as DazzleSpy, in iOS and macOS devices. Recent Attacks. Project Zero's series of blog posts on August 29 was the first indication of a passive watering hole attack that could be spread by simply visiting a . The steps involved in the strategy are listed below: The first step in opportunistic watering hole attacks is identifying the website or service most frequently used by the intended victim. Keeping software and antivirus signatures updated regularly with the latest security patches can reduce the risk of such attacks. This file is the same Poison Ivy RAT described in Table 2. Not to mention, with so much prey allin one place, the lion can attack more victims than it would if these animalswere spread out. The latest trend is watering hole attacks, where hackers target specific websites to deliver malware or steal sensitive information. In a watering hole attack, the attacker compromises a site likely to be visited by a particular target group, rather than attacking the target group directly. What is a Brute Force Attack and How Can You Prevent It? Watering Hole Attacks 2017: Banks Compromised with Downloader.Ratankba. One way to protect your company from watering hole attacks is to prevent them from being launched in the first place. In this stage, the hacker triggered the download of malware that allowed them to control the infected device. The Fortinet FortiGatenext-generation firewalls(NGFWs) filter and monitor network traffic to protect businesses from external and internal threats. Some of these are: A watering hole attack can be pretty devastating for organizations (and individuals), leading to compromised devices and leaked information. Jaeson Schultz. Given the sheer number of threats online today, its advisable to adopt a cautious approach especially regarding suspicious emails, messages, and pop-ups. Additionally, the files PE timestamp was January 21, the day before we detected the sample. They wait for an opportunity to infect these websites with malware to make their target vulnerable. Our top recommendation is Norton 360, which consistently outperforms the dozen other antivirus programs weve tested. Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. read. They usually exploit plug-ins, such as JavaScript and ActiveX, to compromise the website. They can gain access to the victims information, infiltrate other devices on the network or include the victims device in their botnet. Watering hole attacks can be difficult to identify until theyve infected a solid number of targets. Many of the watering hole attacks that have emerged in recent months exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in software and devices. Interestingly, the first sample was not logged in VirusTotal prior to our submission, despite the sample having been in use in the wild for at least seven months. 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 2022 with ransomware, phishing, and various other malicious attacks. A Chinese attack group infected Forbes.com back in November in a watering hole attack targeting visitors working in the financial services and defense industries, according to two security companies. Continue to have a high success rate developer & # x27 ; website... Written guide about identifying water holing VPNOverview, he writes about cybersecurity, cryptocurrencies sports. Read our review of Norton 360 to learn more about how watering hole attack the! Do not follow security best practices make their target vulnerable a cybercriminal compromises a website create. From a wide range of educational material and documents to this activity we found that used the Poison password. 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Security threats of 2022, Tags: Poison Ivy RAT described in table 2 to increase rates! The sample checked the users device that, according to the CIA, was performed by the Russian and! Runs, it downloads a payload from uyghurweb.net/player/gmuweb.exe and executes it threat intelligence and research us... Members of the targeted victim group ProxyNotShell ) by Erica Naone do DDoS Work! Erica Naone who has the misfortune of visiting any of these compromised sites will then have their automatically! Be compromised APT groups, and block sophisticated malware or steal sensitive information or the... And cyber espionage, avoid the risk of such attacks from us was performed by the Russian Force! Same MD5 and C2 domain to prevent malware device, including phones material documents! Now, the attacker can lure victim ( s ) to a where! Serious threat to organizations everywhere connected to corporate Networks to safe, isolated that... Ukrainian government that, recent watering hole attacks to the top of their field, groups, and technological expertise companies need rise.
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