What is jamming?

• A. Encryption
• B. Interception
• C. The disruption or blocking of wireless communications by overpowering or interfering with signals.
• D. Noise figure

Answer: (C)

Jamming is the disruption or blocking of wireless communications by overpowering or interfering with signals. This describes the deliberate act of transmitting to overwhelm a receiver on the target frequency, raising the noise floor or causing interference so the intended message cannot be received reliably. It’s about interference with access to the communication channel, not about changing the content of a message or secretly listening in.

This differs from encryption, which protects content by scrambling it so unauthorized receivers can’t understand it. It also differs from interception, which is about listening to or capturing communications, often without consent or alteration. And it’s not about the receiver’s noise figure, which is a measure of the receiver’s own internal noise performance rather than an external adversary actively transmitting interference.

In practice, jamming can take many forms, from broad, wide‑band noise that covers a wide portion of the spectrum to targeted, narrowband interference aimed at a specific channel. The goal is to prevent effective communication, not to decode or read the transmitted data.