Eavesdropping

Cardinals eavesdropping in the Vatican. A painting by Henri Adolphe Laissement, 1895

"Belly-buster" hand-crank audio drill, used during the late 1950s and early 1960s to drill holes into masonry for implanting audio devices

Eavesdropping is secretly listening to the private conversation of others without their consent, as defined by Black's Law Dictionary.^[1] The practice is commonly believed to be unethical.

Etymology

The verb eavesdrop is a back-formation from the noun eavesdropper ("a person who eavesdrops"), which was formed from the unrelated noun eavesdrop ("the dripping of water from the eaves of a house; the ground on which such water falls").^[2]

An eavesdropper was someone who stands at the eavesdrop (where the water drops, i.e., next to the house) so as to hear what is said within. The PBS documentaries, Inside the Court of Henry VIII (April 8, 2015)^[3] 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,^[4] and demonstrate that everything said there was being overheard; literally, that the walls had ears.^[5]

Techniques

Eavesdropping can also be done over telephone lines, email, and other methods of instant messaging considered private. (If a message is broadcast, it is not considered eavesdropping.) VoIP communications software is also vulnerable to electronic eavesdropping via infections such as trojans.

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. Those who perform this type of attack are generally black hat hackers; however, government agencies, such as the National Security Agency, have also been connected.

References

↑ Garner, p. 550
↑ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/eavesdrop
↑ Inside the Court of Henry VIII. Public Broadcasting Service. April 8, 2016.
↑ Inside the Court of Henry VIII. Public Broadcasting Service. April 8, 2016.
↑ Stollznow, Karen (August 7, 2014). "Eavesdropping: etymology, meaning, and some creepy little statues". KarenStollznow.com.

External links

The dictionary definition of eavesdropping at Wiktionary
Media related to Eavesdropping at Wikimedia Commons

Espionage
Agents Assets	Agent handling Field agent Non-official cover sockpuppet strawperson Official cover Resident spy
Analysis	Intelligence assessment cognitive traps competing hypotheses
Devices and communications	Concealment device Covert listening device Cryptography Cut-out Dead drop USB Invisible ink Numbers station One-way voice link Short-range agent communications Steganography microdot
Operations	Black operation black bag Wetwork Eavesdropping SIGINT MASINT False flag Industrial espionage Interpersonal (HUMINT) intelligence interrogation safe house surveillance COINTELPRO MINARET SHAMROCK

Intelligence management

Collection

Interpersonal
(HUMINT)

Special reconnaissance organizations
Clandestine	Asset recruiting Cell system Covert action Direct action Operational techniques
Espionage	Agents field handling Asset Black operation black bag Concealment device Cryptography Cut-out Dead drop Denial and deception Eavesdropping False flag Industrial espionage Intelligence assessment Interrogation Numbers station Official cover Non-official One-way voice link Resident spy Steganography Surveillance

Signals (SIGINT)

Measurement and
signature (MASINT)

Other

Analysis

Dissemination

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.