phone taps
Covert line monitoring
Phone taps are devices or methods for secretly monitoring telephone conversations, typically installed by law enforcement or intelligence agencies with legal authorization, though also used illegally for espionage or blackmail.
The term covers both the physical equipment and the act of surveillance itself: The FBI obtained warrants for phone taps on suspected mobsters.
To tap a phone is to intercept its communications.
The practice has evolved from literally tapping into phone lines to sophisticated digital interception.
- wiretapHidden listening device
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- listening deviceHidden surveillance microphone
- eavesdropListen to private conversations
- buggingSecretly recording conversations
listening · FBI · court order · spying · intercept · recording · warrant · covert · NSA · national security · deep state · informant · conspiracy · detective · paranoia · government · landline · party line
- espionagespy, spies, double agent, double agents, spying
- secret policeStasi, KGB, Gestapo, NKVD, Cheka
- wiretappingwiretap, wiretapping, wiretaps, eavesdropping, bugging
- StasiStasi, informants, wiretapping, bugging, secret police
- Stasi operationsStasi, state security, secret police, informants, political arrests
- covert operationsundercover agents, covert ops, stings, infiltration, deep cover
phone tapsend-to-end encryption
Unreadable data between sender and recipient
encrypted messaging · secure communications · counter-surveillance · privacy protection · secure networks
phone, taps, phones, phoned, phoning, phonetic, phonetics, phoneme, phonology