In the cold war, how did commanders of US and Soviet ballistic missile submarines know if they were being followed by the other side's attack subs?

[IchthyoHuntr]

Now I know the cold war involved a lot of cat and mouse stuff as well as both sides following each other's boomers with attack subs, I guess the question is, seeing as an attack sub would likely recieve orders to torpedo an opposing boomer should somebody start shooting icbms off, either in a first strike or retaliation, how would boomer commanders, knowing the importance of stealth and the other side not knowing where they are ensure that they haven't picked up a tail and are not being followed by subs from the other side that would recieve orders to torpedo them if things were to go hot?

[Goforit1010]

They actually did find and follow each other. The listening capabilities of even cold war subs is still classified. Believe me, it's pretty dang smart. We already knew which specific soviet made sub was following or followed based on the noise it made. Yeah, even today, the same thing is true.

There are tactics sub commanders and crews know to fool another sub, surface ship, or aircraft to escape and evade. Tactics like diving into a thermocline. Going 100% dead quiet, turning the screws barely enough to propel them forward or back, and even blowing the ballast tanks for a massive rise to the surface. Of course, our subs can dive a LOT deeper now than in WWII.

[HighValue]

They would call out "Marco," and the enemy would respond with "Polo." :P