Overview: Account Takeover (ATO)

Quick Definition

Account Takeovers are a general category of cyberattacks in which the intruder gains access to the account of a legitimate user on a system or network, posing as that user. After an account takeover, malicious actors may use the legitimate user's access privileges to engage in a variety of illicit activities, often without detection, since the session appears to be legitimate to IT systems and staff.