ESPIONAGE: ABCs

Who is a SPY?

Definition: person who secretly finds out about another's business.
Other terms: agent, plant, operative


The Spy’s business = ESPIONAGE
 Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it is known that the information is in unauthorized hands.

Espionage is usually part of an institutional effort by a government or corporation, and the term is most readily associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies primarily for military purposes. Spying involving corporations is known as industrial espionage.

One of the most effective ways to compile information about an enemy (or potential enemy) is by infiltrating the enemy's ranks.


Types of Spies/Agents
 § Double agent, is a person who engages in clandestine activity for two intelligence or security services (or more in joint operations), who provides information about one intelligence service to the other, and who wittingly withholds significant information from one on the instructions of the other or is unwittingly manipulated by one so that significant facts are withheld from the adversary.

Re-doubled agent, an agent who gets caught as a double agent and is forced to mislead the foreign intelligence service.

 Triple agent, an agent that is working for three intelligence services.

 § Intelligence agent: Provides access to sensitive information through the use of special privileges. If used in corporate intelligence gathering, this may include gathering information of a corporate business venture or stock portfolio.

§ Access agent: Provides access to other potential agents by providing profiling information that can help lead to recruitment into an intelligence service.

§ Agent of influence: Someone who may provide political influence in an area of interest or may even provide publications needed to further an intelligence service agenda. I.e. The use of the media to print a story to mislead a foreign service into action, exposing their operations while under surveillance.

 § Agent provocateur: This type of agent will instigate trouble or may provide information to gather as many people as possible into one location for an arrest.


Espionage Techniques and Technology
 § Agent handling
§ Concealment device
§ Safe house
§ Surveillance
§ Honeypot


Famous Spies
 · Sidney Reilly


· Cambridge Five


 · Richard Sorge





Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spy