Internet Protocol Hijacking (IP Hijacking)

Definition - What does Internet Protocol Hijacking (IP Hijacking) mean?

Internet Protocol hijacking (IP hijacking) is a specific form of hacking that makes use of IP addresses to move data over the Internet. IP hacking exploits some vulnerabilities in general IP networking and the Border Gateway Protocol, a system used to designate paths for routed data packets.

Hijacked IP addresses can be used for various kinds of targeted activities including spamming and denial of service attacks. At a mass level, these types of activities should have a negative impact on commercial and government services on the Internet. The issue of how to innovate IP systems to limit exploitable flaws is a major part of discussion in this field.

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Techopedia explains Internet Protocol Hijacking (IP Hijacking)

Entities known as autonomous systems, which are often ISPs, will use designated IP prefixes to control certain portions of a routing network. Fraudulent use of BGP can allow for IP hijacking, where a large number of routing nodes may be affected. These issues have caused significant concerns in the IT community in general about the sense that Internet routing nodes do not have the "consciousness" to filter out certain kinds of fraud, which leaves the Internet with large areas of vulnerability that hackers can exploit.