Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM)

November 21, 2023 - Around 2 mins mins to read

Understanding the Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM)

A Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM) is a common type of cyberattack in the fields of cryptocurrency and computer security. Its purpose is to secretly eavesdrop, intercept communication, or modify the traffic exchanged between two parties engaged in a conversation. The two parties, unbeknownst to them, are actually communicating with an attacker who has positioned themselves in the middle, giving the illusion of a normal exchange.

In order to successfully carry out a MITM attack, the attacker must be able to intercept all relevant messages between the two victims and inject their own messages into the communication. This can be relatively simple in certain cases, such as when an unencrypted WIFI network is used, allowing the attacker to act as a middleman. The main objectives of a MITM attack include stealing valuable information like login credentials or personal data, spying on the victim, sabotaging communications, or corrupting data.

Although encryption can offer some level of protection against MITM attacks, determined attackers can still find ways to bypass it. They may redirect traffic to phishing sites that imitate legitimate ones or simply pass on the traffic to its intended destination after harvesting or recording it. Consequently, detecting such attacks becomes extremely challenging.

MITM attackers typically try to avoid mutual authentication, which is a security measure employed by most cryptographic protocols. Mutual authentication helps prevent MITM attacks by ensuring that each endpoint is adequately authenticated. For instance, protocols like TLS can authenticate one or both parties using trusted certificates. It is important to note that a Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM) should not be mistaken for a meet-in-the-middle attack, as they are distinct types of attacks.