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

Picture yourself sitting in a busy airport lounge, feasting on cake, while trying to catch up on your emails over the free airport Wi-Fi. You suddenly get reminded of an overdue bill and sign in to your bank account to pay it off. As you do, someone sitting somewhere gets access to each and every keystroke, password, and confidential message you send.

Well, this wasn’t the plot of a cyber-thriller; it’s a real threat, one commonly referred to as the man-in-the-middle attack in cybersecurity. Statistically speaking, MITM attacks account for nearly 19% of successful cyberattacks across the globe.

But what exactly is a man-in-the-middle attack, and how can you prevent it before your personal or business data ends up with the wrong set of people? Let’s seek to answer…

What is a Man-in-the-Middle Attack?

A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack is a cybersecurity threat where a third party secretly intercepts digital communication.
The attacker positions themselves between two parties without their knowledge, making the exchange unsafe.

They can steal sensitive information, eavesdrop, or even alter the data being transmitted.
This puts personal, financial, and business information at serious risk.

MITM attacks can target emails, messages, web browsing, banking, and calls.
The real danger is that victims are often unaware of the interception

How Does a Man-in-the-Middle Attack Work in Cyber Security?

To understand how a man-in-the-middle attack in cybersecurity works in practice, consider a classic spy story where two spies communicate using encrypted messages, and an evil genius picks up on these messages and manipulates them before forwarding them back to the two spies. In the digital world we live in, this unfortunately takes only a few milliseconds to accomplish.

The two phases/stages of MITM attacks, as such, are…

1. Interception: The intruder positions themselves as the middleman between the victim and the targeted receiver. They create a rogue Wi-Fi hotspot with a recognizable name, exploit weaknesses in network protocols, or use malware to take over browser sessions.
2. Decryption & Manipulation: Once they intercept the data, the attacker decrypts it (if encrypted) or reads, steals, and modifies it before sending it to the intended destination. They steal login credentials, credit card details, or emails, alter transactions, or install malware and malicious links on genuine messages.

Types of Man inthe-Middle Attacks

The man-in-the-middle attack is not a single technique, but a family of cyber threats, each with its own methods and targets. Find some of the most common types of MITM attacks mentioned below for your understanding…

1. Wi-Fi Eavesdropping (Wi-Fi Spoofing)

The criminals create a phony Wi-Fi access point that has a recognizable name, such as Airport Free WiFi or Starbucks Guest. The users unknowingly join the connection, and all their traffic is diverted through the attackers’ device.

At the Defcon 2019 hacker conference, security researcher Dave Kennedy set up a fake Wi-Fi network, only to find hundreds of attendees connected to it, with their business accounts, email addresses, and social media passwords all exposed.

It was carried out in an attempt to illustrate the ease with which cybercriminals can deceive people into accessing rogue access points.

2. DNS Spoofing

DNS spoofing is one of the most common types of man-in-the-middle attacks, wherein an attacker alters the DNS (Domain Name System) cache, i.e., the internet’s address book, in order to redirect users to fake sites despite entering the correct web address.

3. ARP Spoofing (Address Resolution Protocol Spoofing)

This scheme works on local networks in that attackers broadcast imitated ARP messages to relate their MAC address to the IP address of another device (like the network gateway). This allows them to intercept data meant for that device.

Corporate espionage cases have used ARP spoofing to intercept sensitive emails and documents on internal networks, leading to significant financial and reputational damage.

4. IP Spoofing

In IP spoofing, attackers fake the IP address of a trusted device to trick the victim into sending private information to them instead.

5. SSL Stripping and HTTPS Spoofing

Attackers change secure HTTPS connections to unsafe HTTP, making it easy for them to see and steal private information.

6. Man-in-the-Browser Attack

Malware infects the victim’s web browser, intercepting and modifying web traffic in real time. The Zeus banking Trojan, active since 2007, has stolen millions by altering online banking transactions as users submit them.

7. Email Hijacking

Attackers gain access to email accounts and monitor communications, often inserting themselves into financial transactions. In real estate scams, attackers hijack email threads between buyers and agents, sending fake wire transfer instructions.

8. Session Hijacking

Attackers steal session tokens to impersonate users on websites without needing login credentials. In July 2020, for example, attackers exploited session hijacking by gaining access to Twitter’s internal tools, allowing them to take over high-profile accounts and post fraudulent Bitcoin scam messages, resulting in over $118,000 in theft.

Signs You Are Becoming a Victim of a Man-in-the-Middle Attack

Man-in-the-middle attacks are designed to be stealthy, but there are warning signs that can tip you off…

• Frequent Disconnections or Session Timeouts: If you are constantly getting logged out of secured sites or your session gets dropped abruptly, it may be an indication of interception.
• Browser Warnings: Error messages regarding invalid, invalidated, or mismatched SSL certificates should not ever be dismissed. They usually act as a sign that somebody is hacking into your connection.
• Unusual Web Page Behaviour: Websites (such as your bank’s) loading unexpectedly without a padlock symbol or displaying a warning that reads Not Secure are a cause of alarm.
• Unexpected Login Prompts: When you are prompted to re-enter a credential in places where you know you should not, more specifically, after you have logged in, take caution.
• Strange Redirects: When you are redirected to another site than the expected one, or when you can see strange URLs in your address bar, it can be due to DNS or HTTPS spoofing.
• Sluggish Network Performance: Your connection will also become slow because MITM attacks reroute data through the attacker’s device.
• Suspicious Emails or Messages: In case you receive emails or messages that feel a bit off, unusual wordings, requesting things that you would not have expected, or unusual formatting, your communication might have been intercepted and modified.

How to Prevent Yourself from MITM Attacks?

To prevent MITM attacks, a combination of right habits, awareness, and technology is needed. Here’s how you can protect yourself and your organization…

• Always Use Secure Connections: Make sure the websites use HTTPS and not just HTTP. The padlock sign on your browser shows that the connection is secure. In case you have to connect to the public Wi-Fi, do not log in to your bank accounts or write sensitive data.
• Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN): The main advantage of using a VPN is that it can secure all your internet traffic and therefore, hackers in the same network can hardly get anything through you, including on public Wi-Fi.
• Keep Your Devices & Cyber Security Software Updated: Make sure you update your operating system, browsers, and apps regularly, as most types of man-in-the-middle attacks take advantage of existing vulnerabilities to attack your system.
• Be Wary of Certificate Warnings: Do not proceed when your browser says that there is an invalid/mismatched SSL certificate. This is usually an indication of an MITM attack in progress.
• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): In case your password is stolen, MFA (such as SMS codes or authentication applications) can provide an additional level of safety.
• Educate Yourself & Your Team: Awareness is your first line of defence. So, train your workers and family members regularly to warn them against the risks of man-in-the-middle attacks and help them learn how to detect unusual activity.
• Use Strong, Unique Passwords: It becomes easier to attack your accounts if your passwords are weak or reused, so always use unique passwords.
• Monitor Your Accounts: Keep monitoring your bank accounts, emails, and social media handles every now and then to ensure they are not being used illegally. A man-in-the-middle attack in cybersecurity may cause irreparable damage, but catching it early can restrict it.

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Conclusion

A Man-in-the-middle attack is a hidden and silent menace that can affect anyone, individuals, businesses, and even governments. The stakes get higher as our daily lives become more digital, but so do the tools and knowledge to defend ourselves. So, get in touch with the Techjockey team asap and get your hands on the best of cybersecurity software out there today itself.

And remember, in the world of cybersecurity, vigilance and education are your best allies. Don’t let an attacker stand between you and your privacy at any cost!