What is Session Hijacking?

session-hijacking

 

In the programming world, a session refers to a user’s temporary contact with the Website. In other words, the log-in and log-off time in between during account service is called a session.

Session hijacking occurs when the criminal online positions himself between the device and the server of the website without disclosing the identity to all endpoints by impersonating gains access to details.

During this juncture the attacker tracks and attempts to retrieve everything from the account of the online user. Sometimes, by denying them access to their own account they take full control of the connection and even neutralize the legitimate user.

A hacker easily enters the server during session hijacking, and accesses the data without the need to use a registered account. In addition to these operations, the hacker can also make adjustments to existing codes, alter server settings or install new programs to help steal valuable data and provide backdoor entry whenever possible.

How does Hijacking Works Session?

Technically, the HTTP communication requires multiple TCP connections, making it necessary for the server to identify the connections of each user using a particular process. The authentication process is the most common one in use, once the server has completed forwarding a token to the client browser. The token consists of a set of variable widths and could be used in various ways – say, in the HTTP request header as a cookie, in other parts of the HTTP request header, in the HTTP request body, or in the URL. The hacker exploits the session token by stealing a valid session token or predicting it to obtain unauthorized access to the web server. Compromising token of the session will occur in different ways.

In layman terms, the hacker approaches the conversation tactfully without revealing the true identity, and gains access to key information being shared. The hacker has the ability to intercept, send and receive information after taking control, without the knowledge of the sender and the receiver. There are two ways Session Hijacking occurs and, they are:

Different Ways Of Session Hijacking

Session Sniffing

The tokens help the hacker intrude into a legitimate session, as described above. And the online attacker gets the session I d first. Also known as Packet Sniffing is used to retrieve the session I d. The receives complete unauthorized access to the web server when this is done.

The Attack on Cross-Site Script

The cross-site script attack is the easiest way for a hacker to gain a session I d without having to run any malicious codes or scripts from the client side. Nevertheless, the victim is not specifically targeted, the online fraudster is exploiting the weak points on the website and using it to deliver a malicious script to the victim’s browser.

Tips To Prevent Session Hijacking

Normally a session hijacking attacker steals the user Id on the client’s website with the help of malicious code. Hence, it is important that client side security is allowed. No protective methods can help steer clear of all risks on the road ahead. The deployment of reliable antivirus, anti-malware applications, helps a lot, while keeping the existing software up-to – date.

The new technique uses an algorithm that places fingerprints on all session requests. It also keeps a record of the HTTP headers in addition to tracking the IP address and SSL session ids. Any modification to the header applies penalty points to the session, and the session will be cancelled if the points reach a certain amount. Don’t worry, they can customize the cap. This is necessary to deal with the situation, because it will have a different HTTP header order when the intrusion occurs.

How Fixhackedwebsite Can Prevent Session Hijacking

Fixhackedwebsite provides a Managed Security Service by leveraging Web Application Firewall ( WAF) over a Secure Content Delivery Network ( CDN) to secure websites and their applications. The Fixhackedwebsite Security Operations Center (CSOC) identifies and analyzes threats and unknown information, and then performs the actions required. It provides ongoing 24/7 website surveillance – an effective approach to preventing the entry of a range of hacking attempts such as session hijacking, session sniffing, and other suspicious threats.

This provides web traffic control and detection of incidents in real time and thus avoids session hijacking – where the hacker attempts to impose an intrusion via active user sessions.