Lurking the Zone was a strategy frequently used by pirates and privateers intending to capture and board target starships.
The tactic
Spacelanes and hyperspace corridors normally had entries into and exits from systems via well-known and well-charted jump zones, which were normally at least half an hour's travel (at sublight speeds) away from the gravity well of the planet in question. The tactic consisted of one or more pirate vessels lurking at the outer edges of such a zone, waiting for a target ship to exit hyperspace. As soon as the desired ship entered the zone, the pirates would attack before it could defend itself or jump back into hyperspace.
Advantages and risks
The prime advantages to this tactic were that pirates could easily pretend to be an entering or departing vessel without arousing suspicion from local authorities, and it was relatively easy to escape into hyperspace should armed patrols arrive. Further, it was possible to pick targets with greater care, taking into account the type of ship, defenses, the response time of system defense forces, and other minutiae.
However, the raid would have to be fast and very well timed since jump zones could be heavily-trafficked areas with constant arrivals and departures that could conceivably get in the way of a board-and-capture operation. Moreover, they were often subject to frequent patrolling by systems authorities looking for just such a tactic.
