Question #1
Thomas, an employee of an organization, is restricted to access specific websites from his office system. He is trying to obtain admin credentials to remove the restrictions. While waiting for an opportunity, he sniffed communication between the administrator and an application server to retrieve the admin credentials. Identify the type of attack performed by Thomas in the above scenario.
Answer: B
Option Analysis:
A. Vishing is a voice-focused social engineering attack that uses phone calls or VoIP communications to trick targets into disclosing sensitive information, so this option is incorrect as the scenario does not involve voice-based deception.
B. Eavesdropping, also known as network sniffing, is a passive attack that involves intercepting and monitoring unencrypted network communications between parties to steal sensitive data, which matches Thomas's action of sniffing communication between the admin and server to retrieve credentials, so this option is correct.
C. Phishing is a social engineering attack that sends deceptive, seemingly legitimate messages or emails to trick targets into voluntarily sharing sensitive data, so this option is incorrect as Thomas did not send deceptive communications to the administrator.
D. Dumpster diving is a physical information gathering attack that involves searching through discarded physical waste such as trash, old documents, or unused storage devices to retrieve sensitive information, so this option is incorrect as Thomas did not search physical waste for credentials. Key Concept:
Eavesdropping is a passive network attack where an unauthorized party intercepts unprotected, unencrypted communications between two legitimate users or systems to steal confidential data such as account credentials, financial details, or personal information. References:
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 Exam Objectives, SANS Security Glossary: Eavesdropping