Sniffing attacks on computer networks

Abstract

The sniffing attack or sniffer attack, in the context of network security, corresponds to data theft or interception by capturing network traffic using a sniffer (an application that aims to capture network packets). When data is transmitted over networks, if data packets are not encrypted, data in the network packet can be read using a sniffer. Using a sniffer application, an attacker can analyze the network and obtain information so that it can eventually crash or corrupt the network or read the communications that occur in the network. Sniffing attacks can be compared to touching wires and getting to know the conversation, and for this reason it is also called "wiretapping" applied to computer networks. In this paper, a sniffing attack is shared which can significantly damage the computer networks as well as methods of combating such attacks. Sniffing is usually performed to analyze network usage, troubleshoot network problems, monitor session for development and testing purposes.