Understanding Sniffing Attacks: How They Work and How to Stay Protected

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Introduction​

In today’s interconnected world, where information is transmitted over networks on a daily basis, it is crucial to understand the threats posed by malicious actors. One such threat is the sniffing attack, a technique employed by cybercriminals to intercept and capture network traffic. In this blog post, we will explore into the inner workings of sniffing attacks, uncover their potential risks, and provide valuable insights on how to protect yourself and your sensitive data.

1. What are Sniffing Attacks?​

Sniffing attacks involve intercepting and analyzing network traffic to capture sensitive information, making them a significant type of network-based attack. By exploiting network vulnerabilities, attackers gain unauthorized access to network packets, allowing them to eavesdrop on conversations, gather usernames and passwords, and even extract valuable data.
According to a study by the Ponemon Institute, 67% of organizations have experienced a data breach in the past two years. Of those breaches, 23% were caused by sniffing attacks.

In 2022, the global cost of data breaches is expected to reach $6 trillion. Of that cost, $1 trillion is expected to be due to packet sniffing attacks.

It is essential to understand the different types of sniffing attacks, including ARP spoofing, DNS spoofing, and packet sniffing, to effectively combat this threat.

2. How do Sniffing Attacks Work?​

Sniffing attacks follow a step-by-step process, starting with attackers gaining access to the target network. Once inside, they use specialized tools to intercept and capture network packets. These tools allow them to analyze the captured data and extract sensitive information.​

To illustrate this, let’s take an example of an attacker targeting a public Wi-Fi network. By setting up a rogue access point and conducting an ARP spoofing attack, the attacker can redirect network traffic through their device, giving them complete visibility into the transmitted data. This could potentially expose usernames, passwords, credit card details, and other confidential information.

Read More about the Sniffing Attack

 

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What are active sniffing attacks?​

Active Sniffing attacks in Ethical Hacking can lead to the use of intercepted data for malicious purposes. Most often, sniffing is used to steal passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data. Sniffers are programs that allow you to intercept network traffic by converting it without the user or administrator's knowledge. Web application sniffers like Wireshark can be used to detect this type of attack in its infancy, so organizations can prevent losses from something that can greatly affect their profits.

Content

1. Types of sniffing attacks
2. The script
3. Effects
4. Key points
5. Countermeasures
6. Conclusion

Types of sniffing attacks​

• ARP Poisoning attack: ARP poisoning is used to redirect network traffic and is usually done to intercept sensitive information from the network. An attacker gains access to the data by sending false ARP messages over the local network. An attacker will intercept ARP request packets and responses for various IP addresses on the local network. The attacker then sends these ARP response packets with a fake IP address to the victim's computer and places it in its cache. The victim's computer now believes that the false addresses are real and authentic, so it will send all of its traffic destined for these IP addresses to the attacker's computer, rather than sending it to its actual destination. Traffic is sent in plain text, because we check it before encrypting or decrypting it.
• Man-in-the-middle attacks: In this attack, an attacker uses a sniffer to capture traffic and redirect it to a computer under their control before it reaches its original destination.
• Switch Spoofing Attack: Switches are used to distribute packets over the network. The switch is programmed with an ARP table that contains the MAC address and IP address of each machine connected to it. The switch learns MAC addresses by sending a stream of ARP messages every second until each machine responds with its own MAC address. An attacker can use their laptop or PC with a sniffer installed on it as an intermediary between the source and target host. He then intercepts the packets on his computer and modifies them. It changes the MAC address of the packets and sends them through its switch to the original destination. Once they arrive at their destination, another router that has never seen these new MAC addresses will switch them to its own network.
• DNS Poisoning: DNS poisoning is a malicious activity that can be used to interfere with the DNS configuration of the target system. An attacker often uses a web browser as part of their attack, visiting a website that hosts an exploit kit, downloading a malicious application from an email message or file attachment, or even just visiting an infected site or opening infected text documents (such as Microsoft Word).

The script​

Most organizations are reluctant to implement any solutions, such as secure passwords or firewalls, as this will add large costs and management overhead to an already underfunded IT department. This type of attack is so common that some believe that attackers are actively working against these solutions by releasing compromised versions of web applications, but they don't stop there.

• Some sniffers actively bypass basic security mechanisms, such as placing sniffers on networks in administrative areas, and then redirecting users to phishing web sites where they give away their saved credentials, thereby faking login attempts and causing a lot of damage to this type of attack.
• Sniffers are also used by many companies to detect computer viruses and other attacks on their IT networks. Hackers and security analysts collect packages to conduct as much expertise as possible. They look for inconsistencies in packets, try to match passwords in clear text, or check data for what it might tell you about a person or organization.
• There are other types of sniffers. These include protocol analyzers, which can be passive or active, or even intrusive. Intrusive analyzers are usually referred to as network analyzers when software is used, although they can be physical devices (as is the case with the AirPcap adapter).

Effects​

• There are a number of consequences that can occur when using a sniffing attack. The use of this attack is associated with privacy concerns and security risks. Before you delve into them, you need to understand what sniffing entails.
• Eavesdropping requires someone to use malicious tools called packet analyzers to capture data transmitted over a network connection.
• They can then read and analyze the information without being detected, as they have not gained illegal access to any system or account. This may cause some sensitive information about personal connections to be available for viewing on another device, as well as their passwords or other sensitive information.
• Its use has been described as a method of accessing the full range of Internet sites and communication-based services, such as email and social media. This can be done through the victim's unwitting connection. The possibility of causing harm by sniffing is a logical consequence, since it is possible to obtain information about objects passed from one party to another.
• Protection through law enforcement and government agencies. Law enforcement agencies have tools to collect transmitted information, which are regularly used to investigate crimes and investigate illegal activities carried out by networks or individuals who manage the network.

Key points​

• An attacker can use the phone's microphone to listen in on a conversation.
• Interception can lead to a significant loss of privacy. For example, criminals used interception in various ways.
• In telecommunications, wiretapping or wiretapping is a technique involving the use of specialized electronic equipment, such as an antenna and receiver, to intercept private communications by connecting to local telephone networks.
• Wiretapping is illegal in most jurisdictions with respect to private communication, including (with some exceptions) all forms of electronic communication, such as email and Internet telephony, unless specifically permitted by law.

Countermeasures​

• Protect your communication from prying eyes. Trade secrets or copyrighted materials should not be transmitted over the Internet. Encrypt all messages. Ensuring physical security of the equipment.
• Install an intrusion detection system and firewall to prevent unauthorized access across the network boundary.
  Mobile phones can be used to intercept messages using software that allows you to track the GSM phone's traffic and location without the user's knowledge, exploiting security flaws in the 7 alarm system used in GSM networks, such as the IMSI trap.
• The GSM network itself is not disabled, as the victim's phone continues to function.
• The stated goal of this technology was to protect public security personnel from abducting victims in crime zones and missing persons at a cost of about $ 100 per device.

Conclusion​

Active sniffing attacks in Ethical Hacking are mainly used by attackers to collect information about the target organization, but they do not always pursue malicious goals.