Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What type of attack did Joseph perform to gain access to the network through intercepted messages?

1. Replay attack

2. Man-in-the-middle attack

3. Phishing attack

4. Denial of service attack

The correct answer is: Replay attack

The scenario described refers to the type of attack where intercepted messages are used to gain unauthorized access to a network. This points towards a man-in-the-middle attack, which is a method where an attacker secretly intercepts and relays messages between two parties who believe they are communicating directly with each other. In a man-in-the-middle attack, the attacker can capture and possibly alter the communication between the victim and the intended recipient. This is relevant because if Joseph intercepted messages, he could then manipulate or use them to gain access to the network. The attacker not only allows the two parties to continue their conversation but can also impersonate either party, leading to potentially harmful actions and unauthorized access. A replay attack, while related to intercepting messages, is specifically focused on capturing data and sending it again without modifying it. This is less about intercepting communication in real-time and more about reusing previously captured packets. Therefore, the scenario of actively gaining access through interception aligns more closely with a man-in-the-middle attack. Considering the nature of phishing attacks, these focus on tricking individuals into providing sensitive information through deceptive means, rather than intercepting messages in transit. Denial of service attacks aim to disrupt service availability and do not pertain to intercepting