Question

I am looking for network interception tools, which involves sniffing external networks... this is regards to a forensic project.. Any help would be appreciated!
What are lawful network interception tools?

Answer 1

In most of the countries I am aware of, network sniffing tools themselves are legal. The law is worded such that acts are legal or illegal, rather than the tools that may be (mis)used to commit those acts. There slight are exceptions to this, in that production of tools whose sole purpose is illegal (e.g. writing malware) may also be illegal, but then it's the act of production rather than the possession of malware that is illegal.

If you're just talking about a network sniffing tool like tcpdump or Wireshark, then it's probably legal to possess, and likely legal to use when you have authorisation to do so on a network.

That being said, I'm not a lawyer, and I only have a limited experience of the law in the UK and USA. If you're concerned, contact a legal professional in your jurisdiction.