Category Archives: sniffer

Okay, so I’m pretty sure this question comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of how HTTPS works, but here goes:

Say that someone has hooked into the “internet line” coming from your home so that they can view any data that is sent or received over it.

Now you type in your browser to visit https://secure.com.

1. The client sends a client hello. Attacker and client know content.
2. The server sends back a server hello. The attacker and client now know the cipher and certificate being used.
3. The server sends the details needed for the client (and therefore the attacker) to generate the pre-master secret.
4. The client and server (and attacker) generate a master secret that is then used for all further transmissions.
5. Since the attacker knows everything the client knows, they can decrypt anything sent from the server to the client. (And I don’t know if they can decrypt vice-versa)

Since the attacker knows everything the client knows about the keys etc, can’t they see anything the client recieves?

How does HTTPS remain secure if all transmissions are monitored?

Continue reading How can TLS/HTTPS remain secure if the entire transmission is monitored? [duplicate]→