Which attack involves hijacking clients by broadcasting a stronger AP signal than the legitimate AP?

• A. Man-in-the-middle attack
• B. Passive attack
• C. Brute force attack
• D. Replay attack

Answer: (A)

In this scenario, the idea being tested is how a man-in-the-middle can be established in a wireless network. By broadcasting a rogue access point with a stronger signal than the legitimate one, an attacker entices clients to connect to it instead of the real AP. Once a client connects to this attacker-controlled AP, the attacker sits between the client and the real network, allowing interception, modification, or injection of traffic. The attacker can see credentials, session tokens, and other data as it passes through, effectively controlling the communication path.

This differs from a passive attack, which would simply listen without changing or redirecting traffic; from a brute force attack, which is about guessing passwords; and from a replay attack, which involves capturing and replaying previously sent data without necessarily hijacking clients via a stronger AP. To defend, use strong authentication (like WPA2/WPA3 with EAP), verify APs, disable auto-join to unknown networks, and consider VPN or certificate-based authentication to protect traffic even if a rogue AP is encountered.