Which term describes capturing passwords by monitoring data packets in transit?

Which term describes capturing passwords by monitoring data packets in transit?

• A. Packet Sniffing
• B. Wire Sniffing
• C. MITM Attack
• D. Rainbow Table Attack

Answer: (A)

Capturing passwords as they travel over a network is about listening to the traffic and reading the data as it moves from one machine to another. This is exactly what packet sniffing describes: intercepting and inspecting the raw data packets on a network, which can reveal credentials if they’re sent in plaintext or poorly protected. Tools that perform this kind of observation, like network sniffers, let an attacker see the contents of packets as they transit. This differs from a MITM attack, which involves acting as an intermediary between the two ends to intercept or alter traffic, not merely passively listening. And it isn’t about cracking password hashes offline, which is what a rainbow table attack does. So the term that fits the description is packet sniffing.

Capturing passwords as they travel over a network is about listening to the traffic and reading the data as it moves from one machine to another. This is exactly what packet sniffing describes: intercepting and inspecting the raw data packets on a network, which can reveal credentials if they’re sent in plaintext or poorly protected. Tools that perform this kind of observation, like network sniffers, let an attacker see the contents of packets as they transit.

This differs from a MITM attack, which involves acting as an intermediary between the two ends to intercept or alter traffic, not merely passively listening. And it isn’t about cracking password hashes offline, which is what a rainbow table attack does. So the term that fits the description is packet sniffing.