Identity Theft in the Digital Realm: Spoofing and Hijacking
Spoofing is the act of disguising a communication from an unknown source as being from a known, trusted source.
Spoofing is the "lie," while hijacking is the "theft." One pretends to be someone else, while the other steals an active connection.
Types of Spoofing
IP Spoofing: The attacker sends IP packets with a forged source IP address to trick the receiver into thinking the packet came from a trusted device.
MAC Spoofing: By changing the hardware address of their network card, an attacker can bypass MAC filters on a router to gain unauthorized access to a WiFi network.
Session Hijacking
When you log into a website, the server gives you a "Session ID" stored in a cookie. Hijacking occurs when an attacker steals this cookie. Since the server relies on the cookie for identity, the attacker can enter the account without a password.
Tool Tip: In Kali, tools like Cookie-Cadger or Wireshark can be used to identify and capture session tokens from unencrypted traffic.
Prevention and Defense
The best defense against spoofing is a "Zero Trust" architecture. Never trust a packet just because it claims to be from a certain IP; instead, use cryptographic signatures and certificates to verify identity.
Anti-Spoofing Checklist
- Implement ingress and egress filtering on routers.
- Use HTTPS to protect session cookies.
- Set the 'HttpOnly' and 'Secure' flags on all cookies.
- Require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
- Avoid using MAC filtering as a primary security measure.
The Bottom Line
Digital identity is fragile. When we trust "headers" instead of "keys," we**
