How does a man-in-the-middle attack relate to encryption?

The relationship between a man-in-the-middle attack and encryption primarily hinges on the vulnerabilities present when communications are not protected by encryption. In a man-in-the-middle attack, an attacker secretly intercepts and possibly alters the communication between two parties who believe they are directly communicating with each other. If this communication is unencrypted, the attacker can easily read, modify, or inject data without detection.

When encryption is employed, it serves as a crucial defense mechanism against such attacks. Encrypted communications ensure that even if an attacker intercepts the data, they cannot decipher it without the appropriate decryption key. This highlights the importance of encryption in securing communications against man-in-the-middle attacks. Thus, recognizing that these attacks exploit vulnerabilities in unencrypted communications underscores the critical role of encryption in safeguarding data integrity and confidentiality during transmission.