In a Man in the Middle attack, a hacker intercepts the traffic between two communicating parties. In some cases, such an infiltrator would need to pass the messages between the parties and thus to pretend to be the first party when communicating a message to the second one and vice versa. Such an interception can be used either to eavesdrop and/or to modify the data sent between the parties. Generally, a combination of encryption (such as TLS/SSL) and certificates are used to prevent this.
Man in the Middle (MitM) attacks are a significant threat in network security due to their ability to stealthily intercept and manipulate communications. The attacker positions themselves in the communication channel between the two parties, intercepting and potentially altering the data exchanged without either party’s knowledge. This can happen in various ways, such as through compromised public Wi-Fi networks, ARP spoofing, or DNS hijacking. The attacker can steal sensitive information, such as login credentials, personal data, or financial information, and even inject malicious content into the communication.
One common example of a MitM attack is on unsecured Wi-Fi networks, such as those in public places. Users connecting to these networks might unknowingly transmit sensitive data through a channel controlled by an attacker. Another method is SSL stripping, where the attacker downgrades a secure HTTPS connection to an unencrypted HTTP connection, making the data accessible.
To combat MitM attacks, encryption is a key defense mechanism. Protocols like TLS/SSL encrypt the data in transit, making it unreadable to anyone who intercepts it. Additionally, digital certificates are used to authenticate the communicating parties, ensuring that the users are actually connecting to the legitimate server and not an imposter set up by an attacker.
Furthermore, users can protect themselves by avoiding public Wi-Fi networks for sensitive transactions, using VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), and ensuring their devices and software are up-to-date with security patches. Regularly checking for the HTTPS protocol and the presence of a valid digital certificate on websites, especially when entering sensitive information, is also crucial in preventing MitM attacks.