wiretap
Secret phone surveillance
A wiretap is a concealed listening device placed on a telephone line or other communication channel to secretly monitor conversations.
The term comes from the early practice of physically tapping into telegraph and telephone wires.
As a verb, to wiretap means to install such a device or conduct such surveillance: Federal agents wiretapped the suspect's phone for six months.
Wiretapping by law enforcement typically requires a court order, though the word now extends to any covert electronic surveillance of communications.
Ongoing observation of something
- buggingSecretly recording conversations
- listeningAttending to sound
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- shadowingFollowing to observe
stakeout · observation · tail · watchlist · recording · spying · snooping · audio surveillance
Formal authorization document
- court orderBinding judicial directive
- FISAIntelligence surveillance legislation
- authorizationFormal permission granted
- probable causeLegal threshold for searches
evidence · admissibility · Fourth Amendment · privacy rights · consent · disclosure · subpoena · prosecution
Covert information gatherer
- intelligenceMental ability, cognitive capacity
- agentOne who acts independently
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
- tradecraftEspionage methods and skills
handler · asset · mole · double agent · dead drop · black ops · infiltration · clandestine
Message-conveying cue
- transmissionSending of information
- frequencyRate of recurrence
- receiverOne who accepts transmission
- transmitterSignal-emitting device
bug · microphone · recording device · splice · audio feed · wireless · digital · analog
Accidentally catch speech
- listen inMonitor others' conversations covertly
- snoopOne who pries
- pryLever or snoop
- secretsConcealed information
confidential · intrusion · invasion of privacy · surreptitious · covert · hidden microphone · secret recording
monitoring
Ongoing observation of something
- buggingSecretly recording conversations
- listeningAttending to sound
- trackingMonitoring location over time
shadowing · stakeout · observation · tail · watchlist · recording · spying · snooping · audio surveillance · phone monitoring
warrant
Formal authorization document
- court orderBinding judicial directive
- FISAIntelligence surveillance legislation
- authorizationFormal permission granted
probable cause · evidence · admissibility · Fourth Amendment · privacy rights · consent · disclosure · subpoena · prosecution · testimony
spy
Covert information gatherer
- intelligenceMental ability, cognitive capacity
- agentOne who acts independently
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
tradecraft · handler · asset · mole · double agent · dead drop · black ops · infiltration · clandestine · undercover
signal
Message-conveying cue
- transmissionSending of information
- frequencyRate of recurrence
- receiverOne who accepts transmission
transmitter · bug · microphone · recording device · splice · audio feed · wireless · digital · analog · scrambler
overhear
Accidentally catch speech
secrets · confidential · intrusion · invasion of privacy · surreptitious · covert · hidden microphone · secret recording
expose
Make known publicly
find · identify · unmask · evidence · proof · incriminating · catch · recorded · intercepted · leaked
- espionagespy, spies, double agent, double agents, spying
- FBIFBI, agent, special agent, bureau, FBI Academy
- policingpatrol, police powers, arrests, police officer, arrest
- secrecysecrecy, secret, secrets, confidential, classified
- Spy Fictionspy, secret agent, double agent, MI6, CIA
- investigationinvestigation, detective, evidence, clue, case
wiretapsecure line
Encrypted communication pathway
end-to-end encryption · encryption · secure communication · privacy protection · countersurveillance
wiretapping, wiretaps, wiretapped, wiretapper, wiretappers, wiretappings