Wiretap covers the interception of communications, including lawful monitoring and unauthorized eavesdropping that can expose sensitive data.
Search across headline titles and summaries.
Background for this topic.
Wiretapping is the covert interception or recording of communications, such as telephone calls, messages, or network traffic, while they are being transmitted. It may be authorized by law enforcement or telecommunications operators, or performed without authorization by an attacker. In technical reporting, the term can cover physical taps, compromised network equipment, malicious software on endpoints, and interception of wireless or otherwise unencrypted traffic.
Its security significance depends on where confidentiality fails: traffic exposed on a network can reveal credentials, business information, or personal data, while endpoint compromise can capture communications before encryption or after decryption. End-to-end encryption, authenticated transport encryption, secure key management, and controlled access to network and lawful-interception systems reduce exposure but do not protect compromised endpoints. Organizations investigating suspected interception should preserve relevant device, network, and authentication logs, establish which communications and systems were accessible, and assess privacy and legal-notification obligations.
Weekly headline count for the current query.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed on Thursday that it's investigating a breach that affected systems used to manage surveillance and wiretap warrants. [...]
Multiple U.S. broadband providers, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies, have been breached by a Chinese hacking group tracked as Salt Typhoon, the Wall Street Journal reports. [...]