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Peer nodes on a local network can see all messages, even those not addressed to them, since the common model is broadcasting packets and selectively processing
by newscracker 7y ago
Peer nodes on a local network can see all messages, even those not addressed to them, since the common model is broadcasting packets and selectively processing them on each client and ignoring packets intended for others (in promiscuous mode, one can capture packets in the local network from all devices, but those packets may or may not contain encrypted data). I’m not sure about modifying the read packets and sending them across though — that would require a more sophisticated attack on the gateway or router and the sending device, in my understanding, which means it’s no longer a peer but an interceptor sitting in between.
- abhishekjha 7y agoWouldn’t a packet be destined from router to only one client having the internal IP address of that client? In this case other peers on the same network won’t know if any communication happened between the router and that peer. Same for when a node sends packets to the gateway.
- newscracker 7y agoNo, that’s not how local networks work. Whether wired Ethernet or wireless with WiFi/Bluetooth, every packet sent from one device or from the router/gateway is seen by every other device in the same network (the same router or gateway boundary). By default, devices choose to act only on the packets addressed to them, and ignore the others. This is why using HTTP (not HTTPS) on a public WiFi network is a risk because everyone else around, if they want to, can sniff and read all the packets and know what exactly you’re up to.
- Isamu 7y agoThe key being “local network”, so if you are connected to a wifi access point you can see everyone using that access point. You can’t “see” packets beyond the router that connects your local network to the next one. The local network is a shared domain.