SIGINT

Signal intelligence (SIGINT) refers to the system enumeration and information gathering by means of interception of electromagnetic emissions between humans or electronic equipment. RF communications have an intrinsic vulnerability related to the channel affecting its confidentiality. Since emissions are scattered all over the atmosphere anyone listening with the right equipment is potentially able to intercept them. For this reason, RF emissions are sometimes transmitted encrypted to protect the communications confidentiality.

Gathering information though SIGINT may require breaking into the communications privacy if it is required to decrypt the signals. This is the case of cyber espionage, police investigations, security agencies and military operations, where the aim is to gain intelligence on the adversary. In other cases, signals travel freely through the air and the aim is to reach as many listeners as possible. In these cases, SIGINT is more like gathering information from open sources like in OSINT.

The SIGINT write-ups available at the moment are the following.

Aircraft ADS-B enumerationBoat AIS enumerationInterception of TETRA radio