AP® Cybersecurity glossary

On-path attack

Also called: man-in-the-middle attack

An attack in which the adversary secretly sits between two parties, capturing and possibly altering the data they exchange.

Appears in the course and exam description (CED): 3.1.A.13.1.C.1

Why it matters in Unit 3

address resolution protocol (ARP) poisoning and evil twins both put the adversary on the path, threatening the confidentiality and integrity of data in transit.

Example

After ARP poisoning, the adversary copies each packet for the target, then passes it on, so neither side notices.

Learn it properly, with a checkpoint Addresses: MAC, IP, ARP, DNS and ICMP

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