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Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attack

What: Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attack

A Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack is a form of eavesdropping where the attacker secretly intercepts and possibly alters the communication between two parties who believe they are directly communicating with each other. In this scenario, the attacker makes independent connections with the victims and relays messages between them, making them believe they are talking directly to each other over a private connection when in fact the entire conversation is controlled by the attacker.

How: Execution of MITM Attacks

  1. Interception:

  2. ARP Spoofing: The attacker sends falsified ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) messages over a local area network. This results in the linking of an attacker's MAC address with the IP address of a legitimate computer or server on the network.

  3. DNS Spoofing: The attacker diverts traffic from legitimate servers to fake ones by corrupting DNS data.

  4. SSL Hijacking: When a victim visits an SSL-secured website (https), an attacker uses another valid certificate to pose as the intended server.

  5. Decryption:

  6. Once data is intercepted, encrypted data needs to be decrypted without alerting either endpoint. Techniques like SSL stripping can be used where HTTPS traffic is intercepted and converted into HTTP by terminating the SSL session at the attacker’s end.

  7. Session Hijacking:

  8. Here, after authentication has been made, attackers take control of a user's session by stealing or predicting session tokens.

  9. Relaying Information:

  10. The attacker relays messages between two parties, manipulating them if necessary, without either party knowing that they are not communicating directly with each other.

Where: Common Environments for MITM Attacks

MITM attacks can occur in any network environment but are more prevalent in non-secure or poorly secured networks such as:

  • Public WiFi networks (airports, coffee shops)
  • Enterprise LANs without proper security measures
  • Internet traffic through unsecured or misconfigured routers
  • Mobile networks with weak encryption protocols

Why: Objectives and Implications of MITM Attacks

Objectives:

  • Eavesdropping: To capture sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card numbers, corporate data, etc.
  • Data Manipulation: To alter communications between two parties for fraudulent purposes.
  • Session Hijacking: To steal authenticated sessions to gain unauthorized access to systems or data.

Implications:

  • Loss of sensitive or proprietary information
  • Financial fraud and identity theft
  • Damage to organizational operations and reputation
  • Legal implications due to breaches of confidentiality

Understanding MITM attacks in detail helps organizations develop effective security strategies like using HTTPS everywhere, employing mutual TLS/SSL certificates for authentication, implementing strong ARP inspection practices on internal networks, and educating users about secure practices on public networks.