What attack takes over a valid TCP communication session between two computers?

What attack takes over a valid TCP communication session between two computers?

• A. Session Hijacking
• B. ARP
• C. Data Interception
• D. VoIP Call Tapping

Answer: (A)

Taking over a valid TCP session means the attacker seizes control of an already established connection between two machines. After the TCP handshake has completed, the session relies on sequence numbers and acknowledgments to order and authenticate the stream of data. If an attacker can observe, predict, or reset these sequence numbers and inject forged segments that the peer accepts as legitimate, they can impersonate one end of the conversation and continue communication, effectively taking over the session. This is the essence of TCP session hijacking: the attacker exploits the state of an active connection to insert themselves into the data flow or to terminate the original endpoints’ access. In practice, defenses like encryption (e.g., TLS) and proper TCP sequence number randomization make hijacking much harder, because the attacker would also need to decrypt or correctly align encrypted payloads and maintain valid sequence expectations. ARP spoofing, while it can enable a man-in-the-middle at the local network level, doesn’t by itself describe taking over an already established TCP session. Data interception is broader and not a specific named attack. VoIP call tapping targets voice traffic, not the general session control of a TCP connection.

Taking over a valid TCP session means the attacker seizes control of an already established connection between two machines. After the TCP handshake has completed, the session relies on sequence numbers and acknowledgments to order and authenticate the stream of data. If an attacker can observe, predict, or reset these sequence numbers and inject forged segments that the peer accepts as legitimate, they can impersonate one end of the conversation and continue communication, effectively taking over the session. This is the essence of TCP session hijacking: the attacker exploits the state of an active connection to insert themselves into the data flow or to terminate the original endpoints’ access.

In practice, defenses like encryption (e.g., TLS) and proper TCP sequence number randomization make hijacking much harder, because the attacker would also need to decrypt or correctly align encrypted payloads and maintain valid sequence expectations. ARP spoofing, while it can enable a man-in-the-middle at the local network level, doesn’t by itself describe taking over an already established TCP session. Data interception is broader and not a specific named attack. VoIP call tapping targets voice traffic, not the general session control of a TCP connection.