TAP (Telecommunications Analysis Service)

TAP, in lawful-interception literature, refers to a network tap or test access point used to copy traffic into monitoring infrastructure. The acronym is also the original Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol for paging systems, and one of several lawful-interception roles. Context determines which meaning applies.

Categories: Threats and AttacksProtocols and Standards

TAP in context

Telecom threats range from opportunistic SMS phishing and SIM swap to nation-state grade location tracking. The common thread is that most attacks exploit the inherited trust model of legacy signaling protocols.

Telecom security is written into standards from 3GPP, GSMA, ETSI, IETF and ITU-T. Understanding which body owns which specification, and how they interlock, is essential for both design and audit work.

To place TAP in the wider telecom-security picture, review Attack Surface Mapping, BGP, Cipher Downgrade Attack, DDoS, Denial of Service (DoS) and ETSI — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

More from the TelcoSec Glossary

Browse the full TelcoSec Glossary, the Ultimate Guide to Mobile Network Security, or the P1 Arsenal of telecom-security tools.