Security Intermediate

What is Man-in-the-Middle Attack?

An attack where the attacker secretly intercepts and potentially alters communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly.

MITM attackers position themselves between client and server, intercepting all traffic. On unencrypted networks, they can read passwords, session tokens, and sensitive data. Advanced attacks can intercept HTTPS by presenting fake certificates.

Prevention includes HTTPS everywhere, certificate pinning, HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security), secure WiFi (WPA3), VPNs on public networks, and validating certificate chains. Public WiFi is particularly vulnerable to MITM attacks.

Related Terms

Penetration Testing

An authorized simulated cyberattack on a system to evaluate its security defenses and identify vulnerabilities.

A social engineering attack that uses fraudulent communications to trick people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware.

A regularly updated list of the ten most critical web application security risks, published by the Open Web Application Security Project.

An attack where malicious SQL code is inserted into application queries through user input to access or manipulate the database.

Webhook Signature Verification

A security mechanism that verifies webhook payloads are authentic and unmodified using cryptographic signatures.

Cryptographic Key Management

The practices and procedures for generating, storing, distributing, rotating, and revoking encryption keys securely.

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