This is How They Will Hack Your Wired Network

First They will get some network sniffing tool. I am extremely proud MS recently released shiny new NETMON 3 that can be downloaded for FREE here https://connect.microsoft.com/availableconnections.aspx and the team manages very nice blog here http://blogs.technet.com/netmon/default.aspx that explains in very detailed manner how to capture, filter network traffic and even automate all this.

After studying all this, first thing I believe They try to sniff HTTP traffic applying proper filter:

and looking for juicy information like passwords or business critical information between the frames They've captured:

How to get protected?

Avoid sending sensitive information over the wire. For example when connecting to SQL Server:

Authentication

Apply network protection mechanisms:

Communications Security

• How To: Call a Web Service Using Client Certificates from ASP.NET
• How To: Call a Web Service Using SSL
• How To: Set Up SSL on a Web Server
• How To: Set Up Client Certificates
• How To: Use IPSec for Filtering Ports and Authentication
• How To: Use IPSec to Provide Secure Communication Between Two Servers
• How To: Use SSL to Secure Communication with SQL Server 2000

Cheers