maninthemiddleattacker

Man-in-the-middle attacker, also known as a MITM attacker, describes a threat actor who positions themselves between two endpoints in a communication, capturing, reading, and potentially altering the messages as they pass. By controlling the channel, the attacker can impersonate either party, harvest credentials, and inject false information without the parties’ awareness. MITM methods exploit trust in networks or protocols and can affect any data transmitted across the intermediary link.

Common techniques include ARP spoofing on local Ethernet or Wi-Fi networks to associate the attacker's device with the gateway, DNS spoofing to redirect traffic, rogue access points (evil twins) in wireless environments, SSL/TLS stripping to remove encryption, and IP spoofing to impersonate endpoints. Attacks often target untrusted networks, public Wi‑Fi, or compromised routers and can enable credential theft, session hijacking, and data manipulation.

Defenses emphasize strong encryption and authentication. Use of HTTPS with validated certificates, TLS 1.3, certificate pinning, HSTS, and, where possible, mutual authentication. Network-level defenses include VPNs, secure configurations, ARP monitoring, and intrusion detection systems. Users should verify certificates, avoid untrusted networks, and keep software up to date. DNS security extensions (DNSSEC) and encrypted DNS can reduce risk by preventing DNS tampering.

Legal and ethical considerations note that MITM activities are illegal without authorization in many jurisdictions. Security researchers conduct controlled MITM testing under explicit permission. Notable incidents and studies, such as publicized demonstrations of insecure Wi‑Fi networks, have helped raise awareness about the need for encryption and authentication in online communications.