What is the ‘Man in the Midde’ attack, why is it so dangerous and how can you protect yourself?

Nowadays, the security of your data and conversations has become very important. However, it cannot be denied that cybercriminals always manage to do their thing to put pressure on society and an invisible and very intelligent threat is currently lurking: the attack Man in the Middle or Man in the Middle.

This curious method of cyberattack has become one of the preferred weapons of cybercriminals to infiltrate the communication between two parties and obtain confidential information.

Therefore, it is necessary to understand in detail what exactly the attack is. Man in the Middlehow it works and, most importantly, how to protect yourself against this threat that is already lurking.

• What is attack Man in the Middle?
• This is how this type of attack works
• The most important thing for last: How can you protect yourself?

What is the ‘Man in the Middle’ attack?

The attack Man in the Middleabbreviated as MITM—or man-in-the-middle attack in Spanish—is a tactic used by cybercriminals to get in the way of communication between two people or person-device communication without either person realizing it.

The main objective of this attack is to intercept, modify or even block the information flowing between these two parties, whatever it may be: a telephone conversation, an email, an online transaction or any other type of digital communication.

So to speak, The attacker acts as a false intermediary and invisibly gains access to data discussed in the conversation or entered into a device. In most cases, victims are unaware that their communication has been compromised, making this type of attack especially dangerous.

They can steal personal data, login credentials, passwords, financial information, and more. Furthermore, the attack is not limited to data interception only; It can also involve the manipulation of transmitted information, which can have serious consequences.

This is how this type of attack works

The attack Man in the Middle operates following a subtle but actually very effective pattern. To do this, an attacker needs to insert himself into the conversation, between, for example, a user and a bank, two devices communicating over WiFi, or two people exchanging messages.

The process takes place in several stages:

1. Interception of communication: The attacker uses various techniques to intercept the communication that is occurring. This may involve unauthorized access to a WiFi network, installation of malware on one of the devices involved or manipulation of the network infrastructure.
2. Positioning in the middle: once the attacker has managed to intercept the communication, he positions himself “in the middle” of the two parties. This can be done by redirecting traffic through your own server or malicious device, acting as an intermediary between legitimate parties.
3. Impersonation: This can impersonate the identity of one of the parties involved to deceive the other. This may include creating fake websites or emails that look legitimate.
4. Interception and manipulation: With the communication now in their hands, the attacker can intercept and, in some cases, modify the transmitted information. This may include obtaining passwords, banking details, emails, and more.
5. Passivity and stealth: a key aspect of the attack Man in the Middle It is his stealth. The attacker must operate discreetly so that victims do not suspect that their communication has been compromised.

So that you understand it perfectly, it is time to give an example: you are in a coffee shop and decide to connect to the site’s public WiFi network, called “Cafeteria_WiFi”, to check your emails on your mobile. At that moment you decide to access your bank’s application to review your accounts.

Meanwhile, the attacker, sitting at a nearby table, begins an attack Man in the Middle. It uses a specialized tool that allows it to intercept the traffic of the “Cafeteria_WiFi” WiFi network without you realizing it.

This is when this cybercriminal manipulates network traffic and displays an error message on your device informing you that you have been logged out and that you need to log in again.

Seeing this message, you re-enter your credentials, thinking there has been a problem with your session. The problem is that they now have full access to your bank account and can carry out unauthorized transactions on your behalf.

Plus, it can continue to watch all your online activities, from emails to purchases, as it sits in the middle of communication between your device and the servers of the websites you visit.

The most important thing for last: How can you protect yourself?

1. Use secure connections: Make sure you use secure connections, especially when it comes to sensitive activities such as communicating with the bank or accessing email accounts. Look for the lock icon in your browser, which indicates a secure connection.
2. Update and protect your devices: Keep your devices updated with the latest security patches and use a quality antivirus.
3. Use a virtual private network (VPN): This encrypts your Internet connection and hides your location, making it difficult for an attacker to identify you and interfere with your communication.
4. Don’t trust open public networks: Avoid connecting to unsecured public WiFi networks. If you must, use a VPN.
5. Check website certificates: Before giving out sensitive information on a website, make sure it has a valid SSL certificate. This is displayed with “https://” instead of “http://” in the URL and a lock icon in the address bar.
6. Don’t click on suspicious links: Avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in suspicious emails.
7. Two-Step Verification: Enable two-step verification whenever possible on your accounts. This adds an extra layer of security.
8. Message encryption: If you’re concerned about the security of your conversations, consider using messaging apps with end-to-end encryption like WhatsApp, which make your messages unreadable to anyone other than the recipient.

Despite all this, a large part of the responsibility will always fall on the user. Therefore, learning what this and other attacks are and recognizing the signs of MITM is the most effective way to avoid them.