Eavesdropping

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use mdy dates

File:Henri Adolphe Laissement Kardinäle im Vorzimmer 1895.jpg

Cardinals eavesdropping in the Vatican. A painting by Template:Ill, 1895

Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information.

EtymologyEdit

The verb eavesdrop is a back-formation from the noun eavesdropper ("a person who eavesdrops"), which was formed from the related noun eavesdrop ("the dripping of water from the eaves of a house; the ground on which such water falls").<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

An eavesdropper was someone who would hang from the eave of a building so as to hear what is said within. The PBS documentaries Inside the Court of Henry VIII (April 8, 2015)<ref name="auto">Template:Cite book</ref> and Secrets of Henry VIII’s Palace (June 30, 2013) include segments that display and discuss "eavedrops", carved wooden figures Henry VIII had built into the eaves (overhanging edges of the beams in the ceiling) of Hampton Court to discourage unwanted gossip or dissension from the King's wishes and rule, to foment paranoia and fear,<ref name="auto"/> and demonstrate that everything said there was being overheard; literally, that the walls had ears.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

TechniquesEdit

Eavesdropping vectors include telephone lines, cellular networks, email, and other methods of private instant messaging. Devices that support VoIP and other communication software are also vulnerable to electronic eavesdropping by computer viruses categorized as trojan viruses or more broadly as spyware.<ref name=":1">Garner, p. 550Template:Full citation needed</ref>

Network attacksEdit

Network eavesdropping is a network layer attack that focuses on capturing small packets from the network transmitted by other computers and reading the data content in search of any type of information.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This type of network attack is generally one of the most effective as a lack of encryption services are used and when the connection between the two endpoints are weak and not secure.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is also linked to the collection of metadata.

SecurityEdit

There is a growing importance of security in communication systems, specifically in wireless technology. The need for security measures at different levels, including software encryption, hardware protection (e.g., trusted platform modules), and even the physical layer using wave-front engineering is as crucial than ever.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Researchers have expressed the importance of addressing the privacy concerns from eavesdropping attacks because they impact the rights of users and the ability to have confidence in the devices as well as the entire Internet. Ensuring that users have trust and confidence in their Internet activities so users continue to engage actively in the system and share data.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:Information security Template:Espionage Template:Intelligence cycle management