Cookie Hijacking- Vital Details That You Must Know

By Author: Selins Jesse
Total Articles: 20
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Cyber-attacks happen at different intensities and in different ways. The attacker can steal the cookies as you browse through a website. These stolen cookies can help the hacker use the details of a legitimate user on various network services. This hacking method that enables them to obtain the session ID can be resolved with some session hijacking prevention techniques. However, before we proceed, it is important to understand the role of cookies before we proceed to cookie hijacking.

Cookies – An Overview

A cookie is a file on the PC's hard drive. As you browse through a website, the relevant information is stored in the file. This file makes your browsing experience better. The types of information that will be present in the file are:

User Name and Password
Server Settings
Commonly used terminologies to browse websites

Cookies help the websites give you a better user experience. The browsing habits and the credentials are all present at the hosting ...
... server to help navigate a webpage with maximum ease. Your browser has the settings that can delete the cookies. Despite the many advantages of cookies, cookie hijacking is becoming a new threat for users.

Cookie Hijacking – What Does It Mean?

As you access a website or an application, the HTTP connection authenticates the credentials. The issue here is that HTTP can view the user's action independently. The system may ask you to authenticate again as you take the next action. The notification for re-authentication happens for every action. The website helps to store the data by creating a session to avoid this trouble for the user. Websites also generate a session ID that can be alphanumeric, only numeric, or just letters/alphabetic. The session ID can be encrypted too.

This data is present on the website's servers. As you log in to a website, the session has the information and does not log you out often. When the attackers gain access to your session ID, they can use your data in several online services.

How Does it Work?

The attacker can gain access to the session ID in many ways. Two of the most prominent methods are:

Stealing the cookies from the website's server
Making the user click on a link that is malicious and get the session ID

As the hacker gets unauthorized access to the user's session ID, he can take over the session without your knowledge. The hackers tend to use the session ID from the browser. The website cannot detect this trick as the user appears to be legitimate and responds accordingly.

The attackers use this technique to access any information and take any action as a genuine user. The hacker can also use the same information in multiple applications. This further compromises the security of the application altogether.

Different Types of session hijacking

Here is a list of five types of customer journey hijacking and a detailed explanation of each type.

XSS
Cross-site scripting or XSS is the common method used by hackers. The attackers analyze if the website has vulnerabilities in the target server. If found, they send scripts from the client-side to the website. The user does not know this and happens to click on the appropriate links as they intend to.
While doing so, the hackers get access to the session ID. In a few cases, the loaded link sends the session ID directly to the attacker. The hackers hide the URL for such purposes.

Session Side Jacking
The attackers use the vulnerabilities of the user to gain access to the session ID. The user's network is targeted to get relevant information. Such attacks happen over public networks or even unsecured networks.

Session Fixation
This method is a dynamic method that helps attackers easily gain access to the session ID. The target is the vulnerabilities in the website. The attackers set the session ID, and the user can use it without knowing the consequences. As the user logs in and authenticates, the attacker can access the information simultaneously.

Predictable Session IDs
Many websites issue session ID as the user's IP address. The website's pattern to issue session IDs is used to gain access. The attackers identify the pattern and predict the session IDs accordingly. They may use the same technique to generate session IDs as in the previous case.

Malware Attack
This technique is a usual malware attack. The users unknowingly install malicious software. From then on, the attacker can gain access when the user uses the computer. The malware shall intercept and give the information to the attacker.

Virus Positive Technologies executes state-of-the-art reverse engineering processes to counter cyber-attacks. The fraud management system helps maintain compliance at every level. The cookie hijacking detection and prevention aim to offer security and keep the brand reputation intact.