What is "domain fronting"?

Domain fronting is a method often employed in the context of cyber attacks, where attackers disguise the true origin of their internet traffic to evade detection and censorship. This technique allows malicious actors to mask the actual server they are communicating with by using a seemingly unrelated front domain name in their requests. Essentially, the front domain can appear benign, making it difficult for monitoring systems to identify and block malicious activities, as the traffic may look like it's coming from a legitimate source.

Recognizing this tactic is crucial in cybersecurity, as it highlights the challenges security professionals face when trying to defend against sophisticated, stealthy approaches used by attackers. This technique can involve exploiting the way certain content delivery networks and cloud services interpret HTTP headers, which leads to a divergence between the perceived source of traffic and its actual destination, thus complicating detection and response efforts. This understanding of domain fronting helps in developing strategies to mitigate its potential impact.