What Is a Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM)?
A Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack is a type of cyberattack where the attacker intercepts and relays communications between two parties who believe they are communicating directly with each other. The attacker can eavesdrop on the communication, modify it, or even impersonate one of the parties in order to gain access to sensitive information. This type of attack is particularly dangerous because it allows an attacker to remain undetected while gaining access to confidential data.
In a MITM attack, the malicious actor inserts themselves into an existing connection between two systems by exploiting vulnerabilities in either system’s security protocols or software. Once inserted, they can monitor all traffic passing through their “man-in-the middle” position and use this knowledge for various purposes such as stealing passwords or credit card numbers. To protect against these types of attacks, organizations should ensure that their networks have strong authentication methods and encryption protocols in place so that any intercepted data cannot be read by attackers. Additionally, users should always verify that websites are secure before entering any personal information online.