QUOTE (Draco18s @ Feb 4 2012, 05:52 AM)

None of that deals with intercepting wireless traffic, which I'd like to point out, are RADIO WAVES, and can't be stealthed.
True.
Sorry, apparently I'm confused. I thought the discussion was about hacking a hidden node.
Stealth does absolutely nothing about finding a hidden node. That's entirely up to the EW+Scan pool vs a static difficulty.
Stealth comes in on the next step - hacking said icon. Just because you located the transmitter, doesn't mean you can pick out the icon and hack it quickly.
If intercepting signals is your thing, yes, you have a 2-3 step process (in which stealth does nothing because you aren't interacting with anything - its all passive):
1) If its a hidden node's transmissions, you first need to detect/isolate the signal by locating the hidden node (otherwise it's hidden in the EM background). A non-hidden node's signals are automatically detected, as they are loudly proclaiming "here I am!" to the world.
2) This detected signal has to be Decrypted if it is encrypted. Fairly straightforward - it's out there for anyone to look at, once found. It's easy to see if it's garbled. The nice thing, as previously mentioned here, is the other end of the traffic is using the same encryption.
3) Now it can be Captured.
Interception lets you listen in on a node's traffic, but won't let you hack or spoof without analysing the icon on one end or the other of the traffic. You need the valid access ID.