What is Eavesdropping Attack?

Understanding Eavesdropping Attack

An Eavesdropping Attack, sometimes called sniffing or snooping, occurs when a third party secretly observes private communications—such as phone calls, instant messages, or other data flowing through a network—without permission. Criminals often use specialized software or tampered hardware to collect information while it is in transit, hoping to harvest login credentials, personal details, or other sensitive content. These kinds of attacks highlight the importance of robust encryption measures, such as TLS for websites or WPA2 for wireless networks. One common example is a public Wi-Fi environment, where an attacker might monitor unprotected data traffic to view emails or acquire usernames and passwords.