Pharming is an advanced cyberattack that silently redirects users from legitimate websites to fraudulent ones in order to collect sensitive information. Attackers will use malicious techniques such as Phishing to compromise the victim’s computer, the code executed from this Phishing email will compromise the victim’s computer or router and will redirect their web traffic to the attacker’s spoofed website. The aim of this website is to collect as much sensitive information as possible, such as login credentials and financial data.
Pharming attacks occur when cybercriminals manipulate the Domain Name System (DNS) or compromise a user’s device to redirect them to a fraudulent website. DNS is a system that translates domain names (like www.example.com) into IP addresses so that browsers can load the correct website. In a pharming attack, attackers corrupt this process to redirect users to malicious websites that mimic legitimate ones.
Pharming attacks generally occur in two forms:
Attackers infect a user’s device with malware that alters local DNS settings. By modifying the host file on the device, the attacker can reroute the user to fraudulent websites, even if they enter the correct URL.
Attackers will target the DNS servers themselves so they can redirect traffic from thousands of users to malicious websites without directly compromising their individual devices.
The seamless nature of pharming attacks makes them especially dangerous, as users often have no idea that they’ve been redirected to a fraudulent site. These fake websites are designed to look identical to legitimate ones, tricking users into entering sensitive information, which is then stolen by the attackers.
Pharming is often confused with phishing, but the two types of cyberattacks are fundamentally different. While phishing relies on social engineering to trick users into providing personal information through deceptive emails, messages, or websites, pharming silently redirects users to fraudulent sites without requiring any direct interaction.
In a phishing attack, a user might receive an email claiming to be from their bank, prompting them to click a link and enter their login credentials. In contrast, pharming doesn’t require users to take such actions. They may type in their bank’s URL correctly but still be redirected to a fraudulent site that looks identical to the real one. This makes pharming difficult to detect as victims are often unaware that they have been compromised.
There have been several high-profile pharming attacks that demonstrate the significant risks this type of cyberattack poses:
Attackers targeted a large group of internet users by poisoning a major DNS server. Thousands of users were redirected to fake banking websites, where their credentials were stolen. The attack exposed weaknesses in DNS security, prompting greater scrutiny of DNS vulnerabilities.
Attackers compromised the routers of home users in Brazil, redirecting them to fake versions of popular banking websites. This attack targeted router DNS settings, leading to a significant number of victims who unknowingly handed over banking credentials to attackers.
Attackers targeted small businesses by poisoning public DNS servers. Employees logging into company websites and email portals were redirected to fraudulent versions of those sites, allowing attackers to steal login credentials and sensitive business information. This attack highlighted the potential damage that DNS-based pharming can cause to businesses of all sizes.
If you type in a URL that you’re familiar with but you end up getting redirected to a different site this can be a sign of a pharming attack.
Pharming websites will mimic legitimate ones but attackers will often make slight changes in the URL, such as adding extra characters or they could even misspell a word.
Legitimate websites, especially those handling sensitive data like banking information, use HTTPS connections. If you notice that a familiar website suddenly lacks HTTPS or the padlock icon, you could be on a fraudulent site.
Some pharming sites might display unusual pop-ups or prompts asking for personal information that the legitimate site wouldn’t request.
Staying alert to these signs can help prevent you from falling victim to a pharming attack.
By stealing sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card numbers, or social security numbers, attackers can commit identity theft and other forms of fraud.
Pharming attacks often target banking websites or online payment portals, enabling attackers to siphon funds from victim accounts without detection.
For businesses, pharming attacks can lead to widespread data breaches, exposing customer information, corporate secrets, or other sensitive data.
Businesses that fall victim to pharming attacks may suffer severe reputational damage, especially if customer data is compromised. This can result in loss of trust, legal action, and significant financial losses.
Regularly updating security software can help detect and remove malware that may alter DNS settings to allow a pharming attack to happen.
Relying on reputable, secure DNS services that offer DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions) can prevent unauthorized changes to DNS records, blocking pharming attempts at the DNS level.
2FA adds an extra layer of protection to online accounts, making it harder for attackers to access sensitive information even if they’ve stolen login credentials.
Always ensure that websites handling sensitive data have valid SSL certificates (look for "HTTPS" in the URL and the padlock symbol). This ensures a secure, encrypted connection between your device and the website.
Businesses should implement network monitoring tools to detect unusual DNS changes or redirects that could indicate a pharming attack.
DNS filtering tools block access to known malicious websites by analyzing DNS requests in real-time. This can prevent users from being redirected to fraudulent sites, even if DNS settings have been tampered with.
A robust firewall system can monitor and control traffic entering and leaving a network, stopping pharming attacks before they reach users.
These tools provide comprehensive protection for individual devices by identifying and mitigating threats such as malware that could be used to alter local DNS settings which are targeted for Pharming attacks.
Where no user or device is trusted by default, this can also help minimize the risks of pharming. By continually verifying the identity of users and devices, Zero Trust models ensure that only legitimate connections are allowed to access network resources.