In 1993 certain internet protocols were designed on the assumption that no one could access the actual wires and listen to the packets of data.

However In recent years, attackers have hooked up computers to do just that. These methods of “sniffing” have been used to detect passwords. This is of concern to many security companies as it signals a area of vulnerability that needs to be approached from a constructive viewpoint.

Potential attackers may also engage in “spoofing,” or using the same computers to transmit their own packets, with false identification fields, as a way of gaining access to systems. In order to counter these attacks, Firewalls are often utilised. Firewalls are routers that attempt to filter out these “spoofed” packets. Sniffing and spoofing have become key security concerns as the Internet has grown. Because of the growing nature of these issues, it is of concern that they are looked at appropriately.