The following is a quick post that outlines the Man in the Middle Attack. With technology evolving as fast as it does, it is important to understand the most popular attacks that exist out there.
The issue with HTTP is that eavesdroppers can intercept your messages. This is problematic when it comes to sending confidential information such as SSN and bank information. Man in the Middle Attacks are one that can be thwarted using encryption methods. This is an attack that plagues many web users. Essentially an attacker can place himself between a website and the user during communication and can intercept all data that comes through. In general, when sending a public key over an insecure channel, anyone can swoop in and take the key and read the encrypted message transmitted (assuming a private key encrypted message has been sent). SSL is the method commonly used to thwart this attack. Other attacks that can be prevented by using encryption methods/protocols include phishing, SQL Injection and Sniffing.