What is the goal of a watering hole attack?

In a watering hole attack, attackers identify websites commonly frequented by their target audience and then inject malicious code into those legitimate sites. When the unsuspecting victims visit these compromised websites, their devices become infected, allowing the attacker to gain a foothold.

Targeting senior executives or other high-profile individuals within an organization is characteristic of a 'whaling' or 'CEO fraud' attack, which is a form of spear phishing.

Using specific personal information about the target to create a convincing phishing attempt describes spear phishing, which is a direct, personalized attack.

Redirecting a legitimate website's traffic to a fake site is known as pharming or DNS poisoning, which manipulates domain resolution, rather than infecting trusted sites with malware.