Protect yourself from a man-in-the-middle attack: 5 tips

A man-in-the-middle attack is a type of cybercrime where a victim is usually not aware of being targeted. The hacker secretly places himself between the user and the website and manipulates their “conversation.”

The main goal is to appear legitimate to both sides. This way, criminal captures confidential information or causes other planned damage.

How can you protect yourself from the man-in-the-middle attack? Read and learn how does the attack happen and what are the ways to defend against it.

How does a man-in-the-middle attack work?

This attack is based on exploiting data sharing between a user’s device and a website. The hacker places himself between these two parties and interrupts the data transfer.

The criminal either eavesdrops or impersonates one of the parties. In other words, he pretends to be someone (or a website) that you trust.

The goals of this attack are usually financially motivated: to steal sensitive information such as login credentials, credit cards, or Social Security numbers.

The attack usually takes place (but is not limited to) on the websites that require logging in.

To give the most typical example, a person comes to a cafe, and logs in to a free, legitimately sounding Wi-Fi network. While actually, the network was created by the attacker. He smartly named it with a similar name to the cafe.

Once the target connects to this fake network, the hacker gains visibility of online data exchange. He can now interrupt the communication between the victim’s computer and the websites he visits, redirect to malicious websites, etc.

How to defend yourself against the attack?

A man-in-the-middle attack is difficult to detect. It is always easier to prevent the attack than to recover from it. Here are the five tips that you should follow:

1. Avoid using public networks (in cafes, shopping centers, hotel lobbies, etc.)

Secure public networks exist. Yet, the few insecure ones can cause you irreversible damage. Do not take the risk and, if possible, avoid using free public Wi-Fi. If you have to use it, take extra precautions – never log in to any site or do a money transaction.

2. Look for secure communication protocols on websites.

When you visit a website, check its security level. You can do it by paying attention to a few details:  HTTPS (instead of HTTP) in the URL, SSL certificate (green lock next to URL), and note any warnings from the browser.

If something concerns you, leave the website immediately. Most importantly, never log in.

3. Use good password hygiene practices.

Everyday cybersecurity hygiene minimizes the risk of a successful man-in-the-middle attack.

Never use weak passwords, and do not reuse the same credential on more than one platform.

Although passwords are not the weakest link in this type of attack, strong passwords help you to protect yourself from the domino effect. If a hacker steals your password, he will not be able to use it on other platforms.

4. Log out of applications when you are not using them anymore.

Once you finish using your bank account or other secure application, immediately log out. This provides a cybercriminal with a shorter time gap for committing a crime.

5. Beware of phishing scams.

Another frequent method to retrieve sensitive data is to use HTTPS spoofing or email hijacking to tailor a phishing email.

Learn to recognize malicious emails:

• Always check the sender’s credibility and the correctness of the email and domain;
• Critically evaluate the content (grammar mistakes, too-good offer);
• Look for suspicious links.

If it seems fishy, do not click on any link or respond.

Get into good internet, privacy, and password security habits. Choose only safe websites, use critical reasoning, and avoid making any compromises for greater convenience. After all, a man-in-the-middle attack is an attack that you can easily prevent.