Editing Traffic analysis (section)

{{short description|Process of intercepting and examining messages}}
{{About|analysis of traffic in a radio or computer network|vehicular traffic|Traffic flow}}

'''Traffic analysis''' is the process of intercepting and examining messages in order to deduce information from patterns in [[communication]]. It can be performed even when the messages are [[encrypt]]ed.<ref name=":0">{{cite conference | last1=Soltani | first1=Ramin | last2=Goeckel | first2=Dennis | last3=Towsley | first3=Don | last4=Houmansadr | first4=Amir | title=2017 51st Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers | chapter=Towards provably invisible network flow fingerprints | publisher=IEEE | year=2017 | date = 2017-11-27 | isbn = 978-1-5386-1823-3 | pages = 258–262 | arxiv = 1711.10079 | doi = 10.1109/ACSSC.2017.8335179 | s2cid = 4943955 }}</ref> In general, the greater the number of messages observed, the greater information be inferred. Traffic analysis can be performed in the context of [[military intelligence]], [[counter-intelligence]], or [[pattern-of-life analysis]], and is also a concern in [[computer security]].

Traffic analysis tasks may be supported by dedicated computer [[software]] programs. Advanced traffic analysis techniques which may include various forms of [[social network analysis]].

Traffic analysis has historically been a vital technique in [[cryptanalysis]], especially when the attempted crack depends on successfully seeding a [[known-plaintext attack]], which often requires an inspired guess based on how specific the operational context might likely influence what an adversary communicates, which may be sufficient to establish a short crib.