Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MitM)
A cyberattack where an adversary secretly intercepts and potentially alters communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly.
In a man-in-the-middle attack, an attacker positions themselves between two communicating parties: intercepting, and potentially modifying, the data being exchanged. Common scenarios include compromised WiFi hotspots, ARP spoofing on local networks, and SSL stripping (downgrading HTTPS to HTTP).
MitM attacks can capture login credentials, session tokens, financial data, and personal information in real time. The victim often has no indication that the communication is being intercepted.
Defenses include using HTTPS everywhere, verifying SSL/TLS certificates, avoiding public WiFi for sensitive operations (or using a VPN), implementing certificate pinning in applications, and using end-to-end encryption for sensitive communications.
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