CompTIA Security+ Question F-75

A recent spike in virus detections has been attributed to end-users visiting www.compnay.com. The business has an established relationship with an organization using the URL of www.company.com but not with the site that has been causing the infections. Which of the following would BEST describe this type of attack?

A. Typo squatting
B. Session hijacking
C. Cross-site scripting
D. Spear phishing

Answer: A

Explanation:
Typosquatting, also called URL hijacking or fake url, is a form of cybersquatting, and possibly brandjacking which relies on mistakes such as typographical errors made by Internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser. Should a user accidentally enter an incorrect website address, they may be led to any URL (including an alternative website owned by a cybersquatter).

The typosquatter’s URL will usually be one of four kinds, all similar to the victim site address: (In the following, the intended website is “example.com”) A common misspelling, or foreign language spelling, of the intended site: exemple.com A misspelling based on typing errors: xample.com or examlpe.com A differently phrased domain name: examples.com A different top-level domain: example.org

Once in the typosquatter’s site, the user may also be tricked into thinking that they are in fact in the real site; through the use of copied or similar logos, website layouts or content.