Definition
A masquerade attack is a cyberattack in which an attacker imitates a legitimate user, device, or entity to gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or sensitive data.
Attackers can use masquerading attacks to evade security controls to steal sensitive information or execute further attacks from within the compromised network.
Examples of a Masquerade Attack
- Attackers can exploit software vulnerabilities to intercept and alter the message before redirecting it to the original recipient.
- A hacker can design a counterfeit website that closely mimics the legitimate one. Next, they start an email campaign to deceive users into visiting the fake website and input their credentials. The hacker then uses the user credentials to log into the target network.
Preventing Masquerade Attacks
- Monitor logins and user locations to detect third-party login attempts.
- Adopt intrusion detection systems to detect suspicious network traffic or behavior.
- Ensure your software is always up to date to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.