The ABC'S of 'Hacking' Part 2

ARP Poisoning Main Issues: The Address Resolution Protocol's uses in detecting and rerouting traffic can cause havoc on a network where ARP's functionality is needed. ARP's capability of altering ARP tables at the switch makes it a prime target for hackers as point of entry in their attack. Because ARP works at both the network layer and the data link layer it can shutdown a network's data transfer with the outside world by confusing computers …showed first 75 words of 1457 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1457 total…and the router therefore owning that material. However, potentially dangerous ARP spoofing can be detected using programs like ARPWatch to monitor all ARP/IP address pairing and alert the administrator when changes occur. It listens to the network like a sniffer and compares all captured replies against a database. The solution to avoid ARP attacks is to encrypt all data passing over a network, however the overhead associated with this method would cost too much.