ITPEC FE Morning October 2022 Question 37
Which of the following is a cyber-attack that redirects a victim to a fake website by manipulating DNS to obtain personal information from the victim?
Explanation
Pharming — the attacker corrupts DNS resolution, so even a correctly typed address leads the victim to a fake site.
The attacker poisons a DNS server's cache or rewrites the hosts file on the victim's PC so that a legitimate domain name resolves to the attacker's IP address. The browser shows the real URL, the fake site looks like the real one, and the victim enters passwords or card details.
Answer (a)
Why not others:
- •(b) Phishing — lures the victim with a fake email or message containing a link to a fake site; the victim is fooled by the message, and DNS is not touched
- •(c) Spamming — sending unsolicited messages in bulk; it involves no redirection
- •(d) Trojan horse — malware disguised as a useful program that performs hidden malicious actions once installed
Key rule: Phishing deceives the person into visiting the wrong site; pharming deceives name resolution, so no suspicious link is needed.
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