Which type of attack involves intercepting communications between two parties?

The type of attack that involves intercepting communications between two parties is a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack. In this scenario, an attacker secretly relays and possibly alters the communication between two parties who believe they are directly communicating with each other. This type of attack is particularly insidious because the victims are usually unaware that their communication has been compromised, allowing the attacker to eavesdrop on sensitive information, manipulate data, or impersonate one of the parties.

Common methods for executing a MitM attack include using techniques such as eavesdropping on unencrypted networks, session hijacking, and even exploiting trusted connections. The attacker effectively positions themselves in the middle of the conversation, making it possible to gather sensitive data like passwords, credit card information, or confidential messages.

In contrast, phishing attacks involve tricking individuals into giving away sensitive information by masquerading as a trustworthy entity. DDoS attacks focus on overwhelming a server with traffic to disrupt service and are not focused on intercepting communications. SQL Injection targets databases by inserting malicious SQL statements to manipulate data, which is distinctly different from intercepting communications.