Imagine this scenario: You sit in the corner of a coffee incognito their public WiFi network, espresso iPad in one hand and in the other, safely away from snoops. A man wearing a black apron stops, tells you how much you owe, and you pay.
But you just put your money in a fraud.
This is similar to cybercrime scenario known as a "man in the middle" attack, or alternatively, as thanks to a falsified certificate "bucket brigade." - Functioning as a black apron of the impostor - the hacker is able to make you pass your private information to them without your even realizing it. Oops.
Man in the middle attacks (MITM) are a leap beyond the typical assault sniffing WiFi. With sniffing, the hacker is a passive participant, simply intercept and read unencrypted data packets. MITM attacks allow a hacker to both listen and actively influence intercepted messages. That's the difference between someone knowing you have ordered an espresso and someone who can change your order to a double cappuccino and sent to someone else table with you foot the bill. In other words, it is a much more serious issue.
To return to the metaphor black apron, a digital certificate functions as a uniform emblazoned with the logo of the coffee. It is supposed to tell you that the person wearing it can be trusted with your money. On the Internet, a digital certificate includes details such as the issuer, subject, serial number and date to show that the associated public key issued by one of several certificate authorities. It is meant to say, "Trust me. This transaction continues. "
MITM attacks are relatively rare, especially when compared to sniffing attacks the most common. It is a lot more work for hackers to subvert the certification system. But it happens. And it is simply individual criminals who commit it. Nokia recently been unmasked for its unencrypting MITM HTTPS traffic style. Some governments are also interested in getting in the middle of online conversations of their citizens.
for protect against sniffers or MITM attackers, you have two basic options. First, you can use the HTTPS protocol, more secure to hide your internet activities. for more complete coverage, use a VPN. by connecting to Internet via VPN, you create a protected tunnel that makes all of your incognito - no man in the middle listening to your conversation or steal your sensitive information
Lyle Frink on Google+
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