eavesdroppingresistant

Eavesdropping resistance is the quality of a system that prevents unauthorized parties from obtaining intelligible information from communications or data under observation. It is typically achieved by applying encryption and secure key management to protect data in transit and at rest, and by authenticating communicating parties to prevent impersonation.

In practice, eavesdropping resistance relies on end-to-end encryption or secure channels that ensure only intended recipients can decrypt content. Important techniques include authenticated encryption, forward secrecy, and strong key exchange, which limit exposure if a channel is compromised in the future. Secure storage of cryptographic keys, hardware security modules, and secure enclaves also help prevent leakage from devices.

The concept must be defined within a threat model. Passive eavesdroppers are the most common concern, but attackers may also perform traffic analysis, metadata collection, or compromise endpoints. Even with strong encryption, metadata patterns, timing, and volume can reveal sensitive information. Eavesdropping resistance does not imply protection against all attack vectors, such as malware, social engineering, or physical tampering.

Common implementations include transport-layer encryption with forward secrecy (such as TLS with ephemeral keys) and end-to-end encrypted messaging protocols. Security audits, formal verification, and adherence to established standards help establish and communicate eavesdropping resistance. In practice, the term is used to characterize systems that provide confidentiality against unauthorized listeners under stated assumptions.