Understanding Replay Attacks
A replay attack is a type of network security attack where a malicious actor intercepts the communication between a sender and receiver and replays the intercepted message.
In this attack, the attacker may either delay the transmission of a legitimate message or transmit it as their own, manipulating the intended transaction.
Guarding Against Replay Attacks
Replay attacks aim to deceive individuals involved in a transaction by manipulating the communication process.
By delaying an important message required for the completion of a transaction, attackers can request money or confidential information from the supposed sender or receiver before allowing the message to pass through.
They can also intercept communication and impersonate the actual sender to exploit security measures, authentication protocols, or deceive other participants on the network.
Mitigating Replay Attacks
Replay attacks are sometimes called man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks because they involve hackers infiltrating private and encrypted communication channels.
Additional identifiers and security measures can be implemented in transactions to prevent falling victim to replay attacks.
For instance, besides digital signatures attached to messages, the communicating parties can incorporate time codes to ensure the authenticity and verifiability of each exchange.
Another security measure is to require one-time passwords for each transaction request, adding layer of authentication.