ICANN Acronyms and Terms
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M
man-in-the-middle attack(MITM attack)
Any attack in which the attacker secretly interposes software or a computer system to intercept, capture, alter, or replay messages between two parties. Attackers use MITM attacks to capture information that one party transmits to another. Installing malware to record a computer user’s keystrokes is one form of MITM attack. In more elaborate schemes, an attacker impersonates one or both parties in an email exchange. During the email exchange, the attacker aims to dupe one of the parties into divulging sensitive information or authorizing a financial transaction.