Man in the Middle Attack and How to Avoid It

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 Man in the Middle (MitM) Attack


This is exactly what it sounds like. Somebody gets between you and whatever it is you're trying to access.

Some common ways this can happen:

A fake WIFI hotspot.

Say you're out for lunch at Joes Sandwich Shop and it looks like they have free WIFI. You connect your phone or laptop to a network with the name "Joes WIFI" that conveniently has no password only to later notice a sign on the wall listing their WIFI network name as "SandwichNet" with a password listed.

Whoever set up "Joes WIFI" got in the middle of you and the websites you were trying to visit. Every site you visited and everything you typed could have potentially been captured by "Joes WIFI" including login information for whatever sites you visited or potentially send you to fake websites that look convincingly like the real thing and collect your login information.

Avoid this by being absolutely certain that you are connected the correct WIFI network and consider using a VPN if you regularly connect to public WIFI.

Sending you to a fake website.

You've just received an email claiming to be from your bank. It notifies you that your account has just been overdrawn and to "click this link" to resolve the issue. When you click that link it takes you to a page that looks just like your banks website and you attempt to login. Nothing happens. At least it looks like nothing has happened. What has happened is you just sent your login information to an attacker who will use it to gain access to your bank account.

Avoid this by NEVER clicking links in emails. If you think there's something wrong with your bank account go to their website directly by typing the address in the bar at the top of your browser or, better yet, just call your bank and ask if there is a problem. Do not use any phone number in that email to call them. Use the local branch number.



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