A Masquerade Attack occurs when an attacker uses stolen or fake credentials to impersonate a legitimate user, system, or device to gain unauthorized access to resources or conduct malicious activities.
Attack Methods
- Credential theft
- Identity spoofing
- Session hijacking
- Token manipulation
- System impersonation
Common Targets
- User accounts
- System services
- Network devices
- API endpoints
- Authentication systems
Warning Signs
- Unusual logins
- Credential anomalies
- Access patterns
- System changes
- Authentication failures
Prevention Methods
- Strong authentication
- Access controls
- Activity monitoring
- System logging
- Identity verification
Best Practices
- Multi-factor authentication
- Regular audits
- Access reviews
- System updates
- Security training
Masquerade attacks require robust authentication and monitoring systems for prevention.