CAPEC-630

Detailed Abstraction Level
Meta — Very abstract, high-level category
Standard — Specific enough to understand
Detailed — Tied to specific technique Draft MITRE CAPEC Status
Stable — Fully reviewed and complete
Draft — Under development
Incomplete — Partially defined
Deprecated — No longer recommended
Obsolete — Replaced by another CAPEC Likelihood: Low Severity: Medium
TypoSquatting

Description

An adversary registers a domain name with at least one character different than a trusted domain. A TypoSquatting attack takes advantage of instances where a user mistypes a URL (e.g. www.goggle.com) or not does visually verify a URL before clicking on it (e.g. phishing attack). As a result, the user is directed to an adversary-controlled destination. TypoSquatting does not require an attack against the trusted domain or complicated reverse engineering.

Prerequisites

An adversary requires knowledge of popular or high traffic domains, that could be used to deceive potential targets.

Mitigations

Authenticate all servers and perform redundant checks when using DNS hostnames.

Purchase potential TypoSquatted domains and forward to legitimate domain.

Skills Required

[Low] Adversaries must be able to register DNS hostnames/URL’s.