Explain how network sniffing can be used to intercept data, highlighting the common vulnerabilities and ways to mitigate them.

Network sniffing, also known as packet sniffing or network analysis, is the process of capturing and analyzing network traffic. It involves using specialized tools, called sniffers or packet analyzers, to intercept data transmitted over a network. This captured data, often in the form of network packets, can then be examined to understand network activity, identify security vulnerabilities, and extract sensitive information. While network sniffing is a valuable tool for network administrators and security professionals for diagnostic purposes, it can also be exploited by malicious actors for unauthorized access to confidential data. Network sniffing works by placing a network interface card (NIC) in promiscuous mode. In normal operation, a NIC only processes data packets that are destined for its own MAC address. However, in promiscuous mode, the NIC captures all network traffic passing through the network segment, regardless of the destination MAC address. These captured packets can then be analyzed using tools like Wireshark, tcpdump, or other packet analyzers. These tools interpret the data in the packets, allowing users to inspect the source and destination IP addresses, ports, protocols, and the data payload. For example, if a user is sending sensitive data over a network that is unencrypted, a network sniffer....