Information AboutEspionage |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ESPIONAGE | |
| french words and phrases | |
| espionagefrench words and phrases | |
| espionage | |
| military intelligence | |
| security | |
| crimes | |
| information sensitivity | |
|
Espionage (a loanword from French ''espionnage'') or '''spying''' is a practice of obtaining Information about an organization or a Society that is considered Secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Unlike other forms of Intelligence Work , espionage involves accessing the place where the desired information is stored, or accessing the people who know the information and will divulge it through some kind of subterfuge. Espionage is usually part of an institutional effort (i.e., ." A spy is a person employed to obtain such secrets. The term '''intelligence officer''' is also used to describe a member of the of Information and intelligence in order to provide advice to their government or another organisation. In general, intelligence officers travel to foreign countries to recruit and "run" intelligence agents, who in turn spy on their own governments. These agents can be Moles (who are recruited before they get access to secrets) or Defectors (who are recruited after they get access to secrets). HISTORY Incidents of espionage are well documented throughout History . The ancient writings of Chinese and Indian military strategists such as Sun-Tzu and Chanakya contain information on deception and Subversion . Chanakya's student Chandragupta Maurya , founder of the Maurya Empire , made use of Assassination s, spies and secret agents, which are described in Chanakya's '' Arthasastra ''. The Ancient Egypt ians had a thoroughly developed system for the acquisition of intelligence, and the Hebrews used spies as well, as in the story of Rahab . Feudal Japan often used Ninja to gather intelligence. More recently, spies played a significant part in Elizabethan England (see Francis Walsingham ). Many modern espionage methods were well established even then. {Link without Title} 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 Weapon s 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. This is done without warrants. 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. RISKS The risks of espionage vary. A spy may be breaking the host country's laws and can be deported, imprisoned, or even Executed , as the Rosenbergs were. A spy breaking his/her own country's laws can be imprisoned for espionage. For example, when Aldrich Ames handed a stack of dossiers of CIA agents to his KGB -officer "handler," the KGB "rolled up" several networks, and at least ten people were secretly shot. When Ames was arrested by the FBI , he faced life in prison; his contact, who had Diplomatic Immunity , was declared Persona Non Grata and taken to the airport. Ames's wife was threatened with life imprisonment if her husband did not cooperate; he did, and she was given a five-year sentence. Hugh Francis Redmond , a CIA officer in China spent nineteen years in a Chinese prison for espionage: he was an illegal, operating without diplomatic cover. Espionage by country Spies in various conflicts See Also: Intelligence agency Special Operations Executive United States government security breaches ESPIONAGE TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNIQUES See Also: Tradecraft List of intelligence gathering disciplines
SPY FICTION See Also: Spy fiction During the many 20th century spy scandals, a large amount of information became publicly known about national spy agencies and dozens of real-life secret agents. These sensational stories piqued public interest in a profession largely off-limits to human interest news reporting, a natural consequence of the secrecy inherent to their work. To fill in the blanks, the popular conception of the secret agent has been formed largely by 20th and 21st century Literature and Cinema . While it is obvious from reading news accounts that many real spies, such as Valerie Plame , are attractive and sociable, the fictional secret agent is oftentimes a loner, sometimes amoral—an Existential Hero operating outside the everyday constraints of society. Loner spy personalities may have been a stereotype of convenience for authors who already knew how to write loner Private Investigator characters that sold well beginning in the 1920s-1930's to the present. James Bond , the protagonist of Ian Fleming 's novels who went on to spawn an extremely successful Film franchise, is probably the most famous Fiction al secret agent of all. In direct contrast to this, John LeCarre 's character George Smiley is often considered the 'anti-bond' and one of the more realistic fictional spies. Another is the boy spy Alex Rider , created by Anthony Horowitz ; Rider is said to be useful due to his youth. Other popular spies are the characters Johnny Fedora by Desmond Cory , Quiller by Adam Hall , Nikita played by Peta Wilson , and Michael Samuelle, played by Roy Dupuis , in the TV series '' La Femme Nikita '' (1997-2001), Jack Ryan in numerous Tom Clancy novels, and Sydney Bristow , played by Jennifer Garner , in the subsequent TV series '' Alias '' (2001-2006). The British TV series '' Spooks '' is another example of spy fiction. Spy fiction has also become prevalent in video gaming, where the " Wet Work " 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 GoldenEye 007 , Perfect Dark , Thief , Metal Gear and Splinter Cell . Recent incarnations have attempted to introduce more psychological aspects of infiltration, such as social camouflage and moral decisionmaking, into gameplay. SEE ALSO
FURTHER READING Surveys
World War I
World War II: 1931-1945
Cold War Era: 1945-1991
|
|
|