Glossary
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
Imagine sending a letter to a friend, but someone intercepts it, reads it, maybe changes it, then sends it on. The attacker sits 'in the middle' of your conversation without either side knowing. This happens on public WiFi a lot.
What is Man-in-the-Middle Attack?
A cyberattack where the attacker secretly intercepts and potentially alters communications between two parties who believe they are communicating directly with each other.
Why Should You Care?
Man-in-the-Middle attacks directly compromise the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive communications—credentials, payment data, API tokens, and proprietary information can all be intercepted and exfiltrated or altered in transit. This threat is particularly severe for remote teams and organizations with employees accessing company resources over unsecured networks, as attackers can credential-harvest or inject malware without either the user or server detecting the breach. Financial institutions, healthcare providers, and any organization handling customer data face regulatory liability if customer communications are compromised through inadequate transport encryption.
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Real-World Example
Attackers on shared WiFi networks or compromised routers can intercept unencrypted HTTP traffic, allowing them to steal session cookies or login credentials in real time. A more sophisticated example is DNS spoofing or ARP poisoning, where an attacker redirects a user's connection to a fake banking website or email server that they control, allowing them to capture credentials or modify transactions before forwarding the traffic to the real destination—a technique that remains effective against users who don't verify SSL certificates or use unprotected networks.
How to Protect Against Man-in-the-Middle Attack
- 1.
Never use public WiFi without a VPN
- 2.
Only visit HTTPS websites
- 3.
Verify certificate warnings seriously
Related Terms
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