Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What type of attack involves capturing packets over a network to retrieve sensitive information like usernames and passwords?

1. Interception attack

2. Wiretapping

3. SQL injection

4. Cross-site request forgery

The correct answer is: Wiretapping

The correct choice captures the essence of network vulnerabilities where sensitive data can be intercepted. Wiretapping refers to the unauthorized interception of communications, typically involving the monitoring of data packets as they travel across a network. This method allows an attacker to gain access to sensitive information such as usernames and passwords by “listening in” on the data traffic. In contrast, the other options describe different types of attacks. Interception attacks cover a broad category that may include various methods but are not specifically focused on the act of monitoring communications as wiretapping is. SQL injection involves exploiting vulnerabilities in a database layer by injecting malicious SQL code, which is unrelated to capturing network packets. Cross-site request forgery is a technique that tricks a user into executing unwanted actions on a web application in which they are authenticated, which has no direct correlation with packet capture. Hence, wiretapping is specifically aligned with the act of capturing packets over a network to retrieve sensitive information.