Rerouting traffic via ARP poisoning is an attack on which network properties?

• A. Confidentiality
• B. Functionality
• C. Both A and B
• D. Availability only

Answer: (C)

ARP poisoning creates a man-in-the-middle position on the local network by sending spoofed ARP messages to associate the attacker’s MAC address with the IP address of another host (often the gateway). Once traffic is misrouted through the attacker, sensitive data can be read or captured, which directly compromises confidentiality. At the same time, the attacker can forward, modify, or drop packets as they pass, which disrupts normal traffic flow and degrades network operation—affecting functionality and can lead to outages or degraded service. Because this attack both exposes data and interferes with how traffic is delivered, it impacts both confidentiality and the network’s functional operation, making both aspects vulnerable.