watering hole
1
8.6
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtərɪŋ hoʊl/
- Jargon
:
sitio web comprometido
- Several watering holes have been compromised this month.
Examples
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They discovered a watering hole on a popular forum where the attackers planted a malicious download.
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The attackers set up a fake watering hole that mimicked a popular forum to lure unsuspecting users into entering their login details.
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Security researchers warned of a watering hole attack that infected dozens of employee laptops last month.
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After the incident, several watering holes frequented by financial journalists were taken offline for investigation.
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The hackers set up a fake watering hole to lure unsuspecting users.
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In cybersecurity, a hacker used a compromised watering hole to steal user credentials from employees who visited the site.
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Employees were warned about the potential dangers of visiting a watering hole site that had been infected with malware.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts 'watering' (related to water) and 'hole' (a place or cavity) suggest a place where animals or people go to drink or gather, so there is a clear metaphorical link to a gathering place. However, the cybersecurity sense (a compromised website used to target a group) is a specialized, metaphorical extension of that gathering-place meaning and is not fully predictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words without cultural or technical exposure.
Etymology
Watering hole in cybersecurity borrows the same animal image: predators wait by a watering hole to catch prey. Attackers sit on websites a group uses so they can 'infect' users or 'steal' information, so the term means a site set up to target and trap a specific group.