Hijacking

Hijacking, in the context of cybersecurity, refers to the unauthorized seizure of control over a legitimate communication, session, process, or resource within an application or software environment. The attacker's goal is to subvert intended functionality, manipulate operations, or exploit the compromised entity for malicious purposes such as data theft, unauthorized access, service disruption, or malware installation.

Hijacking takes many forms in application security. Session hijacking involves an adversary taking over a user's authenticated session to impersonate them and bypass access controls. Browser hijacking alters web browser settings to redirect traffic to malicious sites, while process hijacking injects code into running software to manipulate its behavior. These attacks typically exploit weaknesses in authentication protocols, session management, insecure communication channels, or software design flaws, making them a critical focus for robust security defenses aimed at protecting data integrity, confidentiality, and system availability.