Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks
What Is a Man-in-the-Middle Attack?
A Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack occurs when an attacker secretly intercepts and potentially alters communication between two parties who believe they're communicating directly with each other.
How MITM Attacks Happen
Attackers often position themselves on an unsecured network - like public Wi-Fi - or exploit weaknesses in a connection to intercept data as it travels between a user and the intended destination.
- Unsecured public Wi-Fi networks with no encryption
- DNS spoofing that redirects traffic through an attacker's system
- Compromised routers or network infrastructure
What MITM Attackers Can Do
| Capability | Impact |
|---|---|
| Eavesdropping | Reading sensitive data as it's transmitted |
| Data Alteration | Modifying data in transit without either party noticing |
| Session Hijacking | Taking over an authenticated session to impersonate a user |
Preventing MITM Attacks
Strong encryption - like HTTPS and VPNs - makes intercepted data unreadable to attackers, and avoiding sensitive transactions over untrusted public networks significantly reduces the risk of a successful MITM attack.
MITM attacks intercept data in transit, but many attacks target the application layer directly - starting with SQL Injection.
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