Not so. The NSA smiley [1] showed that the smartest of attackers (or maybe the chinese are, but that&#x27;s besides the point) are still (or were still, as of ~5 years ago) relying on passive MITM. It&#x27;s far easier to exploit a passive vulnerability for a long time - Active exploits leave traces, give clues as to who you are. Passive exploits often leave the user without any idea that they are being snooped.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;search?q=nsa+smiley&amp;es_sm=122&amp;tbm=isch&amp;imgil=VuJ8ZFTEmP3nvM%253A%253B4Fg1sd5R8Hj6wM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.newyorker.com%25252Fnews%25252Famy-davidson%25252Ftech-companies-slap-back-at-the-n-s-a-s-smiley-face&amp;source=iu&amp;pf=m&amp;fir=VuJ8ZFTEmP3nvM%253A%252C4Fg1sd5R8Hj6wM%252C_&amp;biw=1920&amp;bih=1115&amp;usg=__QePJRyzqVcukmkqgDaKspXJPw_Q%3D&amp;ved=0CCcQyjdqFQoTCL-x8oa5wcgCFYkqiAodX1QFjg&amp;ei=EQUeVv_kN4nVoATfqJXwCA#imgrc=VuJ8ZFTEmP3nvM%3A&amp;usg=__QePJRyzqVcukmkqgDaKspXJPw_Q%3D" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;search?q=nsa+smiley&amp;es_sm=122&amp;tbm=isc...</a>