On-Path Attacks Explained: How Hackers Secretly Intercept Your Internet Traffic

Have you ever connected to public WiFi and logged into your account without thinking twice?

What if someone was silently watching — or even controlling that connection?

This is exactly what happens in an On-Path Attack.

What is an On-Path Attacker?

An On-path attacker places themselves between two communicating systems usually a web browser and a web server.

Once in the middle, an attacker can :

• Intercept sensitive data
• Modify communication
• Impersonate either side

This type of attack is also know as Man-in-the-Middle(MITM) attack.

Think of it like a rogue postal worker:

• Opens your letters
• Reads your private messages
• Edits the content
• Sends them forward

You never reliaze your communication was compromised.

How On-Path Attacks Works?

1. You request a website
2. The attacker intercepts your request
3. They forward it to a real server
4. The response comes back through the attacker
5. They can read or modify everything

You believe that you’re talking directly to the website — but you’re not.

Common Types of On-Path Attacks

HTTP Interception

Unencrypted HTTP traffic is easy to intercept. Attackers can steal username & passwords and inject malicious scripts.

Session Hijacking

Websites store login sessions in cookies. If cookies are stolen, then attackers can gain access without requiring passwords, and attacker can impersonate the user.

DNS Spoofing(DNS Cache Poisoning)

DNS Spoofing tricks your system into connecting to a fake server.

In this attack, attacker interferes and gives you a fake ip address instead.
So instead of going to real website:

google.com --> real server

You get redirected to:

google.com --> fake server

How to Prevent DNS Spoofing?

• Use HTTPS websites
• Avoid using public wifi or vpn
• Clear DNS cache regularly
• Use secure DNS(like google DNS/Cloudflare DNS)

Email Hijacking

Attackers intercept email communications. In this, attackers put themselves in between an email server and the web.

Once the server is compromised, the attackers can monitor email communications for various purposes.

Once such scam involves waiting for a scenario where one person needs to transfer money to another person.

The attacker can then use a spoofed email address to request the money to be transferred to an attacker’s account. This email will seem legitimate to the recipient(“Sorry, there’s typo in my last mail, my actual account number is : XXXX-1233”) making this attack very effective and financial devastating.

Public WiFi Attacks

Public WiFi is one of the easiest attack points.

Attackers can create fake WiFI networks, monitor traffic and redirect users to the fake websites.

That “free wifi” could cost you your data.

Why On-Path attacks are dangerous?

• Invisible to users.
• Full access to data
• Data leaks
• Malware infections

Now the main point is, How you can protect yourself?
There is no single solution, but these practices help significantly:

• Use HTTPS(SSL/TLS)
• Avoid using public WiFi or VPN
• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication(MFA)
• Keep Systems updated
• Verify Emails Carefully

For more such content related to devOps and security, you can also checkout my GitHub.

On-Path Attacks Explained: How Hackers Secretly Intercept Your Internet Traffic was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.