HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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.


Etymology

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"). 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) 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 Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chi ...
to discourage unwanted gossip or dissension from the King's wishes and rule, to foment paranoia and fear, and demonstrate that everything said there was being overheard; literally, that the walls had ears.


Techniques

Eavesdropping vectors include telephone lines, cellular networks, email, and other methods of private instant messaging. VoIP communications software is also vulnerable to electronic eavesdropping via infections such as
trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...
.Garner, p. 550


Network attacks

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. This type of network attack is generally one of the most effective as a lack of encryption services are used. It is also linked to the collection of metadata.


See also

*
Cellphone surveillance Cellphone surveillance (also known as cellphone spying) may involve tracking, bugging, monitoring, eavesdropping, and recording conversations and text messages on mobile phones. It also encompasses the monitoring of people's movements, which can b ...
*
Computer surveillance Computer and network surveillance is the monitoring of computer activity and data stored locally on a computer or data being transferred over computer networks such as the Internet. This monitoring is often carried out covertly and may be comp ...
* Covert listening device * ECHELON * Espionage * Fiber tapping * Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present) * ''
Katz v. United States ''Katz v. United States'', 389 U.S. 347 (1967), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court redefined what constitutes a "search" or "seizure" with regard to the protections of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constituti ...
'' (1967) * Keystroke logging * Listening station *
Magic (cryptography) Magic was an Allied cryptanalysis project during World War II. It involved the United States Army's Signals Intelligence Service (SIS) and the United States Navy's Communication Special Unit. Codebreaking Magic was set up to combine the US ...
* Man-in-the-middle attack * Mass surveillance * NSA warrantless surveillance controversy (December 2005 – 2006) * Opportunistic encryption * Party line * People watching * Privacy * Secure communication * Speke Hall, containing a physical eavesdrop for listening to people waiting at the door * Surveillance * Telephone tapping * Ultra


References


External links

* * {{intelligence cycle management Espionage techniques Fiction Plot (narrative)