Espionage
Espionage is the practice of obtaining
information about an organization or a
society that is considered
secret or confidential (spying) without the permission of the holder of the information. What differentiates espionage from other forms of
intelligence work is that espionage involves obtaining the information by accessing the place where the information is stored or accessing the people who know the information and will divulge it through some kind of subterfuge.
Espionage is usually thought of as part of an institutional effort (i.e.,
governmental or corporate espionage). The term espionage is most readily associated with
state spying on potential or actual enemies, primarily for
military purposes, but this has been extended to spying involving
corporations, known specifically as
industrial espionage. Many
nations routinely spy on both their enemies and allies, although they maintain a
policy of not making comment on this.
Black's Law Dictionary (
1990) defines espionage as: "...gathering, transmitting, or losing...information related to the
national defense."
A spy is an agent employed to obtain such secrets. The term intelligence officer is also used to describe a member of the
armed forces,
police officer or civilian
intelligence agency who specialises in the gathering, fusion and
analysis of
information and intelligence in order to provide advice to their government or another organisation.
Spymaster is a term often used in
literature for the
superior of a
spy ring.
Incidents of espionage are well documented throughout
history. The ancient writings of the
Chinese military strategist
Sun-Tzu and
Indian prime minister
Chanakya contain information on deception and
subversion. The
ancient Egyptians had a thoroughly developed system for the acquisition of intelligence, and the
Hebrews used spies as well. More recently, they played a significant part in
Elizabethan England (see
Francis Walsingham).
Feudal Japan often used
ninja to gather intelligence. Many modern espionage methods were already then well established. [
1]
The
Cold War involved intense
espionage activity between the
United States of America and its allies and the
Soviet Union and the
People's Republic of China and their allies, particularly related to
nuclear weapons secrets. Recently, espionage agencies have targeted the
illegal drug trade and those considered to be
terrorists.
For three decades the United States has cultivated its best and brightest to pre-eminence in what is now known as the field of communication and control. As
technology has advanced, the means and methods of espionage have advanced from
Nixon era
wire tapping, through
Reagan era programs like
ECHELON and
Carnivore, to surveillance of all electronic transmissions including
cell phone logs,
voice mail,
email, packet sniffing, trace routing and wireless transmissions.
However, the Soviet Union has been said to have had fielded the largest and most advanced spy networks during its time, infiltrating some of the most secure places on the planet, which has caused many scandals.
Since January of 2000, a long list of agencies have been data mining the world's stock exchanges; this program was formalized on October 26, 2001 in the form of the
Patriot Act. This helps track the financing of people who might be laundering money from drug transactions. For a variety of reasons, including changes in technology, it has been necessary to do this without warrants and it is argued that the necessity makes it legal.
In order to gather political and economic information that might be of advantage to the United States, foreign communications are routinely subject to surveillance. In 2002, new programs of satellite surveillance and unmanned low level drones armed with missiles made it possible not only to perform surveillance in real time, but to respond with force.
Espionage by country
| Country | Espionage organizations and agencies | | Secretariat of Intelligence, National Directorate of Criminal Intelligence, National Directorate of Strategic Military Intelligence |
| Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Australian Secret Intelligence Service |
| Canadian Security Intelligence Service |
| General Intelligence Directorate |
| Security Information Service |
| General Directorate of External Security, Central Directorate of General Intelligence, Directorate of Territorial Surveillance |
| Federal Intelligence Service |
| Research and Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau |
| Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations |
| Democratic Intelligence and Security Service, Military Intelligence and Security Service |
| National Security and Investigation Center |
| Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence |
| General Intelligence and Security Service |
| New Zealand Security Intelligence Service |
| Federal Security Service, Foreign Intelligence Service, |
| National Intelligence Agency, South African Secret Service, South African National Defence Force Intelligence Division |
| National Intelligence Centre |
| Security Service, Secret Intelligence Service, Special Branch |
| Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency |
Noteworthy incidents
*
Daniel Defoe spies for
England in
Edinburgh, assisting in the
bribery scandal which led to the
Treaty of Union 1707*
Benedict Arnold's
West Point betrayal conspiracy
*Patriot
Kelsie DeNooy leaks British invasion plan to
General Washington*
1870s â€" infiltration of U.S.
labor unions by
Pinkerton National Detective Agency*
1940s â€"
Double Cross System British capture of German spy network in Britain in
WWII*
1940s â€"
Stalin rejects
Richard Sorge's precise data on
Operation Barbarossa*
1940s â€" transfer of U.S. nuclear weapons secrets in the
Rosenberg Case*
1940sâ€"
1950s â€"
Cambridge Five Soviet spy ring in UK during and after WWII
*
1960 â€"
U-2 Incident during the Cold War.
*
1961 â€" failure of the
Bay of Pigs Invasion*
1968â€"
1985 â€"
Walker spy ring sold U.S.
KL-7 codes to Soviets
*
1979 â€" Top members of the
Church of Scientology are convicted in federal court for their participation in
Operation Snow White, the largest incident of private domestic espionage in U.S. history, in
United States vs. Mary Sue Hubbard et al.*
1970sâ€"
1990s â€" alleged
Chinese theft of American nuclear weapons designs (See
Cox Report)
*
2005 â€"
Leandro Aragoncillo indicted as part of what the
FBI refers to as the first case in history of espionage from within the
White HouseSpies in various conflicts
*
American Civil War*
World War I*
World War II*
Cold War*
Agent Handling*
Black Bag Operations*
Concealment device*
Cryptography*
Cut-out*
Dead drop*
Eavesdropping*
False flag operations
*
Honey trap*
Interrogation*
Nonofficial cover - NOC
*
One-way voice link*
Steganography*
Surveillance*
TEMPEST — Protection devices for communication equipment.
Since not much is publicly known about real-life secret agents, the popular conception of the secret agent has been formed largely by 20th and 21st century
literature and
cinema. Similar to the character of the
private eye, the secret agent is usually a loner, sometimes amoral, an
existential hero operating outside the everyday constraints of society.
James Bond, the protagonist of
Ian Fleming's novels who went on to spawn an extremely successful
film franchise, is probably the most famous
fictional secret agent of all. Another is the boy spy
Alex Rider, created by
Anthony Horowitz; Rider is said to be useful due to his youth. Yet another popular spy is the character Sydney Bristow, played by Jennifer Garner, on the TV show "Alias" (2001-2006).
Spy fiction has also become prevalent in video gaming, where the "wetworks" aspect of espionage is highlighted. Game situations typically involve agents sent into enemy territory for purposes of subversion. These depictions are more action-oriented than would be typical in most cases of espionage, and they tend to focus on infiltration rather than information-gathering. Some examples are
Metal Gear and
Splinter Cell.
Common espionage in today's world has been dubbed snitching (other variations included ratting and tattle-tale). What separates it from other forms of espionage is that it involves a traitor or victim rather than a spy. Snitching received a bad reputation as it goes against the
golden rule. Also the informers are often used as the
scapegoat for a person or group's mistakes and failures. The video
Stop Snitchin' was created to show that people who informed authorities on crimes should (or would) be murdered. This resulted in major controversy.
*
Compartmentalization*
CIA*
Classified information*
Numbers station*
KGB*
List of cryptographers*
List of alleged secret agents*
Military intelligence*
Mitrokhin Archive*
Motives for spying*
Security clearance*
Corporate espionageSurveys
* Andrew, Christopher.
For the President's Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to Bush (1996)
* Black, Ian.
Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services (1992)
*
Bungert, Heike et al eds. Secret Intelligence in the Twentieth Century (2003) essays by scholars
* Friedman, George.
America's Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between the United States and Its Enemies (2005), since 9-11
* Johnson, Robert, 'Spying for Empire: The Great Game in Central and South Asia, 1757-1947' (London: Greenhill, 2006) British Intelligence and its imperial connection
* Kahn, David
The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet (1996), 1200 pages
* Knightley, Philip.
The Second Oldest Profession: Spies and Spying in the Twentieth Century (1986)
* Lerner, K. Lee and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds.
Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security (2003), 1100 pages. 850 articles, strongest on technology
* O'Toole, George.
Honorable Treachery: A History of U.S. Intelligence, Espionage, Covert Action from the American Revolution to the CIA (1991)
* Owen, David.
Hidden Secrets: A Complete History of Espionage and the Technology Used to Support It (2002), popular
*
Richelson, Jeffery T. A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century (1997)* Richelson, Jeffery T.
The U.S. Intelligence Community (4th ed. 1999)
* Smith Jr., W. Thomas.
Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency (2003), popular
* West, Nigel.
MI6: British Secret Intelligence Service Operations 1909-1945 (1983)
* West, Nigel.
Secret War: The Story of SOE, Britain's Wartime Sabotage Organization (1992)
* Wohlstetter, Roberta.
Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision (1962)
World War I
*Beesly, Patrick.
Room 40. (1982). Covers the breaking of German codes by RN intelligence, including the Turkish bribe, Zimmermann telegram, and failure at Jutland.
*Kahn, David.
The Codebreakers. (1996). Covers the breaking of Russian codes and the victory at Tannenberg.
* May, Ernest (ed.)
Knowing One's Enemies: Intelligence Assessment before the Two World Wars (1984)
* Tuchman, Barbara W.
The Zimmermann Telegram (1966)
World War II: 1931-1945
* Babington-Smith, Constance.
Air Spy: The Story of Photo Intelligence in World War II (1957)
* Hinsley, F. H. and Alan Stripp.
Codebreakers: The Inside Story of Bletchley Park (2001)
* Hinsley, F. H.
British Intelligence in the Second World War (1996) abridged version of multivolume official history.
* Hohne, Heinz.
Canaris: Hitler's Master Spy (1979)
* Jones, R. V.
The Wizard War: British Scientific Intelligence 1939-1945 (1978)
* Kahn, David.
The Codebreakers. (1996).
* Kahn, David.
Hitler's Spies: German Military Intelligence in World War II (1978)
* Kahn, David.
Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boat Codes, 1939-1943 (1991)
* Lewin, Ronald.
The American Magic: Codes, Ciphers and the Defeat of Japan (1982)
* May, Ernest (ed.)
Knowing One's Enemies: Intelligence Assessment before the Two World Wars (1984)
* Persico, Joseph.
Roosevelt's Secret War: FDR and World War II Espionage (2001)
* Persico, Joseph.
Casey: The Lives and Secrets of William J. Casey-From the OSS to the CIA (1991)
* Smith, Richard Harris.
OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency (2005)
* Stanley, Roy M.
World War II Photo Intelligence (1981)
* Wark, Wesley.
The Ultimate Enemy: British Intelligence and Nazi Germany, 1933-1939 (1985)
* Wark, Wesley K."Cryptographic Innocence: The Origins of Signals Intelligence in Canada in the Second World War",
Journal of Contemporary History 22 (1987)
Cold War Era: 1945-1991
* Aldrich, Richard J.
The Hidden Hand: Britain, America and Cold War Secret Intelligence (2002).
* Ambrose, Stephen E.
Ike's Spies: Eisenhower and the Intelligence Establishment (1981).
*
Andrew, Christopher and Vasili Mitrokhin. The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB (1999)* Andrew, Christopher, and Oleg Gordievsky.
KGB: The Inside Story of Its Foreign Operations from Lenin to Gorbachev (1990).
* Aronoff, Myron J.
The Spy Novels of John Le Carré: Balancing Ethics and Politics (1999).
* Bissell, Richard.
Reflections of a Cold Warrior: From Yalta to the Bay of Pigs (1996)
* Bogle, Lori, ed.
Cold War Espionage and Spying (2001), essays by
* Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin,
The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB, Basic Books (1999), hardcover, ISBN 0465003109; trade paperback (September, 2000), ISBN 0465003125
* Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin,
The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World, Basic Books (2005) hardcover, 677 pages ISBN 0476003117
* Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin,
The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West, Gardners Books (2000), ISBN 0140284877
* Dorril, Stephen.
MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service (2000).
* Dziak, John J.
Chekisty: A History of the KGB (1988)
* Gates, Robert M.
From The Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story Of Five Presidents And How They Won The Cold War (1997)
* Haynes, John Earl, and Harvey Klehr.
Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America (1999).
* Helms, Richard.
A Look over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency (2003)
*
Koehler, John O. Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police (1999)* Murphy, David E., Sergei A. Kondrashev, and George Bailey.
Battleground Berlin: CIA vs. KGB in the Cold War (1997).
* Persico, Joseph.
Casey: The Lives and Secrets of William J. Casey-From the OSS to the CIA (1991)
* Prados, John.
Presidents' Secret Wars: CIA and Pentagon Covert Operations Since World War II (1996)
*
Rositzke, Harry. The CIA's Secret Operations: Espionage, Counterespionage, and Covert Action (1988)* Srodes, James.
Allen Dulles (2000), CIA head to
1961 *
Trahair, Richard C. S. Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies and Secret Operations (2004), by an Australian scholar; contains excellent historiographical introduction
* Weinstein, Allen, and Alexander Vassiliev.
The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in Americaâ€"The Stalin Era (1999).
