Can attackers substitute/place my queries to/from provider?

Question

Can attackers substitute/replace my queries to/from provider? I mean I do HTTP query and its modified on provider-side so query goes modified to a server or reversal situation, when I get modified answer from server by the modifying response on provider-side?

Answer 1

This happens all the time in situations that do not need an attacker. A "proxy" is a server that funnels all connections through it and then passes it on to the real destination. A proxy can modify all the data passed through it in either direction to do things like remove images, or display a safe page if the user has navigated to an unapproved site. This kind of thing can happen in companies, schools, or government buildings to protect the users.

But, yes, attackers can do the same thing in an attack called "Man in the Middle". The most common example is at an open public wifi (like a coffee shop), where an attacker funnels all your traffic through his computer to read (or modify) the traffic.