Which term is a passive technique that monitors network communications and decodes protocols?

• A. Network Sniffing
• B. Network Diagram
• C. NMAP
• D. NTP

Answer: (A)

Monitoring network communications by passively capturing frames and decoding protocols is packet sniffing. It observes traffic on a network segment without sending its own packets, letting you read protocol headers and payloads to understand what’s happening across the network. This passive approach is what enables decoding multiple layers—from Ethernet and IP up through application protocols like HTTP—so you can analyze traffic patterns, troubleshoot, or detect sensitive data in transit. By contrast, a network diagram is just a map of devices and connections; NMAP is an active scanner that probes systems; NTP is a time synchronization protocol. Sniffing is the technique that records and interprets live traffic.