Web Session Cookie Theft

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 Web Session Cookie Theft 

Almost every web application we use, from social media and streaming platforms to cloud services and financial applications, runs on authentication cookies. Though cookies make our experience on the web much more convenient, they also create a vulnerability that can be abused to great effect. In late 2019, a group of loosely connected hackers made a name for themselves by executing cookie theft malware to hijack various YouTube channels, then luring unsuspecting owners with bogus offers to broadcast cryptocurrency scams or sell the accounts to the highest bidder.

What you need to know: When an attacker successfully steals a session cookie, they can perform any actions the original user is authorized to take. A danger for organizations is that cookies can be used to identify authenticated users in single sign-on systems, potentially giving the attacker access to all of the web applications the victim can use, like financial systems, customer records or line-of-business systems potentially containing confidential intellectual property.

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