Spoofing is a technique to steal sensitive information from users without realizing that they are caught in a spoof. Hackers take the support of any legitimate source to play a blind game with you. ARP spoofing, caller ID spoofing, website spoofing, and email spoofing are the most common types that make you a victim. Phishing attacks also use spoofing techniques to trick a victim into giving away sensitive information.
According to SocRadar, “There were around 964,000 phishing attacks registered in the first quarter of 2024 alone.”
It’s an alarming statistic that warns you to be alert for spoofing and phishing attacks. You must be aware of caller ID spoofing and email spoofing, but ARP spoofing is still something you need to know about.
In this article, we will cover all you need to know to identify and prevent ARP spoofing.
What is ARP Spoofing?
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) bridges IP addresses to MAC addresses so that data packets can reach the correct devices on a network. ARP spoofing or poisoning refers to the attack when a hacker sends forged ARP responses via LAN to a target device.
The attacker associates their MAC address with the IP address of an authentic network device, such as computer B or the gateway. For example, the attacker tricks computer A into associating their own MAC address with the IP address of computer B. That’s how any traffic meant for computer B will be routed to the attacker’s device.
The attacker also gets a chance to intercept or alter data transmitted between devices. Be alert and check frequently, as this could lead to personal data theft, disrupted services, or unrestricted access to networks & devices.
Threats of ARP Spoofing Attacks
Here, we have common threats of ARP spoofing attacks.
1. Data Theft: Attackers access sensitive information by impersonating legitimate devices on the network. Theft data includes login credentials, personal information, and financial data.
2. Session Hijacking: A hacker can gain unauthorized access to the accounts and hijack user sessions by intercepting data.
3. Denial of Services (DoS) Attacks: ARP flooding overloads the network, disrupting operations by overburdening ARP caches and diverting data traffic.
4. Man-in-the-middle attacks: Attackers intercept and manipulate traffic between victims to gain unauthorized access to the network.
How to Detect ARP Spoofing?
Let’s decode how to detect ARP spoofing attacks.
1. Monitor ARP Tables
Monitor ARP tables on network devices regularly to detect ARP spoofing. You will get the list of stored MAC addresses associated with IP addresses on the network. If you detect that multiple IP addresses are associated with the same MAC address, it’s a warning sign of an ARP spoofing attack.
2. Use Network Scanning Tools
ARP traffic on your network is tracked by network scanning tools like Wireshark. You will be able to spot unauthorized connections if you notice any duplicate Mac addresses or differences between IP and MAC addresses.
3. Deploy Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)
Set up intrusion detection systems (IDS) to monitor network traffic and detect odd activities, such as ARP spoofing attempts. Some IDS solutions support ARP monitoring and warn administrators when inconsistencies are detected.
How to Prevent ARP Spoofing?
Adopting preventive measures is the only way to protect yourself from ARP spoofing.
Let’s explore together!
1. Use Static ARP Entries
One of the knee-preventing approaches is static ARP, which assigns an IP address to a specific MAC address. It is preferred for small networks since it requires complicated administrative tasks, such as manually updating the ARP tables across all hosts whenever the network changes. It prevents attackers from sending fake ARP messages.
2. Employ VPNs for Secure Communication
A VPN encrypts device-to-device communications to protect data on a network. This strategy is effective when you need a robust defense for people, but it cannot be employed in large groups. If you’re utilizing a potentially risky connection, such as public wifi at an airport, use a VPN to encrypt all data transmitted between the client and the exit server. This keeps them safe by restricting an attacker from viewing the ciphertext.
3. Enable Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI)
Dynamic ARP inspection (DAI) is an advanced network security feature of switch networks that mitigates the threat of ARP spoofing attacks. It validates each ARP message and discards suspicious or malicious packets. DAI can also be configured to limit the rate at which ARP messages can be sent through the switch, effectively blocking Denial of Service (DoS) attempts.
4. Use Port Security on Switches
Enabling a port security feature on network switches restricts a number of Mac addresses and allows only one to communicate on each switch port. This limitation reduces the risk of spoofed messages as you have control over which devices can send ARP messages.
5. Encryption
Encryption protocols such as HTTPS, SSH, and SSL/TLS mitigate the potential risk of ARP spoofing. MiTM attacks were often used to collect login credentials that were previously delivered in plain text. However, encrypted protocols provide a layer of security and make it difficult for attackers to intercept communication.
Don’t Miss the Closure!
ARP spoofing is a threatening alarm that slides in and steals your personal information without ringing. The most irritating part of this spoofing is that your network operations and performance are also disturbed, which creates a huge mess. The preventions we discussed above are the only way to safeguard yourself from ARP spoofing or poisoning. If you notice any suspicious activity across your network, immediately detect it and take prior steps.
Spoof hackers with your preventive measures!
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