An attacker monitors information transmitted between logical or physical
nodes of a network. The attacker need not be able to prevent reception or
change content but must simply be able to observe and read the traffic. The
attacker might precipitate or indirectly influence the content of the
observed transaction, but the attacker is never the intended recipient of
the information. Any transmission medium can theoretically be sniffed if the
attacker can listen to the contents between the sender and recipient.
Attack Prerequisites
Any target that transmits readable data could be attacked in this way.
Cryptographic techniques that render a data-stream unreadable can thwart
this type of attack.
Resources Required
The attacker must be able to intercept the transmissions containing the data
of interest. Depending on the medium of transmission and the path the data takes
between the sender and recipient, the attacker may require special equipment
and/or require that this equipment be placed in specific locations.
Description
