# Watering Hole Attack

An attack that compromises a website its intended victims are known to frequently visit.

**Watering hole attack[↗](/watering-hole)** is a targeted attack strategy where an attacker compromises a legitimate website that their intended victims are known to visit regularly, then waits for those visitors to become infected, rather than attacking the targets directly.

The name comes from predators lurking near a watering hole that prey naturally visits. Because the compromised site is trusted by its visitors, watering hole attacks can be highly effective against specific industries or organizations that share common online resources.