A Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack is a type of cyber-attack in which an attacker intercepts and/or alters communications between two parties without their knowledge. This is a type of eavesdropping in which the attacker can control the entire conversation. Attackers often exploit flaws in SSL/TLS protocols, or use stolen digital certificates, to decrypt and manipulate communications. Some alternative terms for MitM attack are machine-in-the-middle attack, on-path attack, adversary-in-the-middle (AITM) attack, and manipulator-in-the-middle attack.
A MitM attack can occur in one of several ways. In Email Hijacking, attackers take control of the email accounts of an organization, usually financial institutions like banks or credit card companies. They monitor communications to collect personal data and payment credentials. They may even spoof a company email address to convince customers to re-send their credentials, or transfer funds into a fraudulent account. In Session Hijacking, attackers gain access to session cookies on web browsers, and steal the information that they contain. This might include user passwords, credit card numbers and other account information. In Wi-Fi Eavesdropping, attackers may compromise legitimate public Wi-Fi hot-spots, or create fraudulent public Wi-Fi networks and hot-spots with names that sound like legitimate businesses. The attackers can collect sensitive data such as credit card numbers, usernames, and passwords, when unsuspecting users log on to these networks. In Domain Name System (DNS) Spoofing, or DNS cache poisoning, attackers use manipulated DNS records to divert legitimate online traffic to a fake or spoofed website. They convince users to take specific actions, like make payments, reveal personally identifiable information (PII) etc.
It has been reported that there has been a 35% increase in MitM attacks from early 2022 to early 2023.
Impact
Victim organizations may incur significant financial losses as attackers can steal critical data like payment credentials.
Sensitive data like personally identifiable information and proprietary business data may be breached, causing loss of confidentiality.
Intercepted data may be altered in an unauthorized manner, leading to loss of data integrity.
Organizations may suffer from downtime and loss of productivity. If attackers are successful, they can install malicious software updates, which may cause system outages and other business disruptions.
MitM attacks may damage an organization’s brand image as attackers can steal and manipulate customer data. This may lead to loss of customer base.
Breach of sensitive data or personally identifiable information may cause organizations to face litigations.
Controls
Organizations should implement a comprehensive security policy.
Organizations should ensure that employees log-in through a secure corporate VPN (Virtual Private Network), especially if they are working remotely.
Organizations should enforce multifactor authentication.
The latest security patches and updated anti-malware should be installed in all endpoint devices like laptops, smartphones, workstations, and servers.
There should be strong end-to-end encryption on all network traffic and resources, including email content, DNS records, messaging applications and access points.
Users should avoid using unsecured public Wi-Fi connections, especially when performing transactions that involve sensitive data.
Users should only visit websites that show “https” in the URL bar, instead of “http”.
Users should avoid phishing emails.
Periodic security assessments and audits should be conducted to detect and remove vulnerabilities in systems.
Users should be provided with continuous training on how to prevent, identify, and report MitM attacks.
How Sujosu Can Help
Sujosu Technology can help you identify areas of concern and assess your application and infrastructure security risk. Our consultants can suggest appropriate countermeasures and provide awareness / training to prevent, detect, identify, and recover from security attacks. Engage with us and remain cyber-secure.
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