Piggyback attack - Definition from the Hotspot Shield Glossary

The Piggyback Attack is a form of wiretapping attack. Wiretapping is the process of illicitly monitoring another person’s telephone conversation by means of a third party, or even physical means of sabotage or covert operations.

Wiretapping has been present for many years and a large number of governments have used it as a means of spying and uncovering criminal activities. A Piggyback Attack is specifically where an attacker gains access to a system using another user’s connection and periods of inactivity when said user is not using the account. The attack is also referred to as a between the line attack, the attacker will exploit network connection weaknesses and force entry into a system using a registered users connection.