What is a Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attack?

Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attack

A Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack is a type of cyber attack in which an attacker secretly intercepts and potentially alters the communication between two parties without their knowledge.

In a typical MITM attack, the attacker places themselves between the victim and the intended destination, effectively eavesdropping on or manipulating the communication flow. The attacker can steal sensitive information, inject malicious content, or impersonate one of the parties.

Common types of MITM attacks include:

• Wi-Fi Eavesdropping: Intercepting data on public Wi-Fi networks.
• Session Hijacking: Stealing a user's session cookies to gain unauthorised access to their online accounts.
• DNS Spoofing: Redirecting users to fraudulent websites that resemble legitimate ones to steal login credentials. To defend against MITM attacks, it is important to use encrypted communication channels (such as HTTPS, VPNs, or end-to-end encryption), avoid using public Wi-Fi for sensitive transactions, and implement strong authentication mechanisms like multi-factor authentication.