Lecture Notes: Threats in Transit What are Threats in Transit? Threats in transit refer to security risks that occur while data is being transmitted over a network. These threats can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data during transmission. Common Threats in Transit ● Eavesdropping: Unauthorized interception and monitoring of network communications. ● Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: An attacker positions themselves between two communicating parties to intercept and modify data. ● Sniffing: Capturing network traffic using specialized tools to analyze data. ● Replay Attacks: Re-transmitting captured data to replay a previous session. ● Message Modification: Altering the content of a message during transmission. Impact of Threats in Transit ● Data Theft: Unauthorized access to sensitive data can lead to data breaches and financial losses. ● Privacy Violations: Eavesdropping can violate individuals' privacy rights. ● Service Disruption: Attacks on network infrastructure can disrupt services and cause downtime. ● Reputation Damage: Security breaches can damage an organization's reputation and erode customer trust. Prevention and Mitigation Techniques ● Encryption: Encrypting data using strong cryptographic algorithms to make it unreadable to unauthorized parties. ● Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): Using VPNs to create secure tunnels over public networks. ● Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS): Using SSL/TLS to establish secure connections between web servers and clients. ● Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Monitoring network traffic for suspicious activity and detecting potential attacks. ● Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS): Blocking malicious traffic before it reaches its destination. ● Access Control Lists (ACLs): Restricting network access based on source, destination, or other criteria. Conclusion Threats in transit pose significant risks to the security of network communications. By implementing effective prevention and mitigation techniques, organizations can protect their data and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their network services.