Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MitM)

A Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack occurs when an attacker secretly positions themselves between two communicating parties, intercepting and potentially modifying the data flowing between them. The attacker can eavesdrop on sensitive communications, steal credentials, or alter data in transit — all while both parties believe they're communicating directly with each other.

MitM attacks exploit unencrypted or poorly encrypted communications. Using TLS/SSL for web traffic, VPNs for remote access, and certificate validation helps prevent MitM attacks by ensuring communications are encrypted and the identity of each endpoint is verified.