Pharming is a technical attack that redirects a user from a legitimate website to a fraudulent one without their knowledge. This is accomplished by corrupting the name resolution process, either locally by modifying the hosts file on the victim's computer or on a larger scale by poisoning a DNS server's cache. The user types the correct URL but is sent to the wrong IP address.

In contrast, phishing is a form of social engineering where an attacker uses a deceptive "lure," typically an email or message, containing a malicious link. This link directs the victim to a fake website. The URL itself is often crafted to look legitimate through techniques like typosquatting or using subdomains.

A. Phishing is a quintessential form of social engineering that relies on deceiving the user, making this statement incorrect.

C. This option incorrectly reverses the definitions, attributing the technical DNS/hosts file manipulation to phishing and the deceptive URL lure to pharming.

D. The attacks are not identical; they employ fundamentally different mechanisms to redirect the victim to a malicious site.

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - Computer Security Resource Center (CSRC) Glossary:

Pharming: "A phishing technique in which a user’s traffic is redirected to a fraudulent web site even though the user typed in the correct Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the intended web site. This redirection can be implemented by changing the hosts file on the user’s computer or by exploiting a vulnerability in the Domain Name System (DNS) server software."

Phishing: "A technique for attempting to acquire sensitive information, such as bank account numbers, through a fraudulent solicitation in email or on a web site, in which the perpetrator masquerades as a legitimate business or reputable person."

2. Cornell University - Information Technology:

In an article titled "Phishing and Pharming," the university defines the distinction: "Unlike phishing, which uses an email lure to get a potential victim to a bogus site, pharming re-directs victims to the bogus site even if they type the correct web address of their bank or other online service into their web browser." (Source: Cornell University IT Security Page on Phishing and Pharming).

3. Jakobsson, M., & Myers, S. (Eds.). (2006). Phishing and Countermeasures: Understanding the Increasing Problem of Electronic Identity Theft. John Wiley & Sons.

Chapter 1, Section 1.2, "Phishing and Other Fraud," distinguishes the two by noting that pharming attacks "poison the DNS cache" or modify local host files, whereas phishing relies on a user clicking a deceptive link in a message. This academic text confirms the mechanisms described in the correct answer. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/0470164777)