Espionage

Espionage is the practice of spying on others (whether states or other entities) to gain information for economic, political or military advantage. Most nations routinely spy on their enemies, and allies, although they generally deny this. Espionage conducted for commercial purposes is industrial espionage. Black's Law Dictionary (1990) defines espionage as: "...gathering, transmitting, or losing...[information related to the national defense]." Espionage, by a citizen of the target state, is generally considered to be a form of treason.

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, particulary related to nuclear weapons secrets.

Recently, espionage agencies have targeted the illegal drugs industry and terrorists.

See: Cold War espionage

Notable spies or alleged spies

• Aldrich Ames
• Rosario Ames
• James Armistead
• Moe Berg
• Jacques Cousteau
• Mansfield Cummings
• Cambridge Five
• Klaus Fuchs
• Ian Fleming
• Nathan Hale
• Theodore Hall
• Robert Hanssen
• Mata Hari
• Harold Nicholson
• Kim Philby
• Earl Edwin Pitts
• Jonathan Pollard
• Alfred Redl
• Sidney Reilly
• Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
• Saville Sax
• Richard Sorge
• Markus Wolf

Espionage organizations

• Israel: Mossad
• Soviet Union: KGB
• UK: MI5 and MI6
• USA: CIA, DIA, NSA

See also Intelligence agencies and Special Operations Executive

Espionage technology

• Cryptography
• Steganography
• Echelon
• SIGINT
• Spy satellite
• Ultra
• The U-2 spy plane
• HUMINT - Intelligence gathered by a person on the ground.
• ELINT - Intelligence gathered from electronic sensors.

Counter-espionage technology

• TEMPEST - Protection devices for communication equipment.

Fictional spies

• James Bond
• Maxwell Smart
• Carmen and Juni Cortez

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See also: Secret agent, Spy fiction, numbers station