The act of spying has been around for millennia. Spies gather secret information and are supported by case officers and cut-outs who relay messages.
Despite being the subject of many 20th century novels, spying remains mysterious. It is also illegal, and the penalties can be steep. 심부름센터 One case involved Hilton settling a legal dispute over industrial espionage.
International Espionage
The practice of state-sponsored spying on a foreign government or company for intelligence purposes. This act of espionage can be carried out openly or covertly with agents and officers working under official diplomatic cover, as well as with other types of non-official cover such as students, business people, or journalists. Spies can be used to retrieve a variety of information and to transfer it from one country to another, or they can be inserted into a hostile organization for the purpose of subverting them and retrieving more valuable information. The latter is known as industrial espionage.
In peacetime, many nations find it necessary to spy on the activities of potential or actual enemies for military and other security reasons. As such, international law generally does not bar a state from engaging in espionage on other states and its citizens as long as certain precautionary measures are taken to avoid causing unnecessary harm or embarrassment to those involved in the espionage.
In the 1930s and 1940s, several college students with communist sympathies were recruited by the NKVD (predecessor to the KGB) to spy for the Soviet Union, including Donald MacLean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross of Great Britain, and Harold (Kim) Philby of the United States. While their actions were illegal under domestic law, they could be defended as necessary in light of the threats faced by the Soviets at the time.
Industrial Espionage
Industrial espionage occurs when a private company steals the trade secrets of another business to gain an unfair competitive advantage. These illegal activities can range from picking through a competitor’s trash to hacking into a competing company’s computer systems and servers. This type of sabotage is more common in the technology sector than it is in other industries due to the ease of access for perpetrators and lax cybersecurity practices.
In some cases, employees will act as double agents, appearing to be regular workers but secretly gathering information for their rivals. While many companies have good cybersecurity protection and formal policies in place, it can still be difficult to catch an employee spying on the business. Even when they are caught, it can take a while to hold foreign or domestic perpetrators accountable because laws on industrial espionage vary across the globe.
The best way to prevent espionage is to have a strong security culture. This includes having policies in place that ensure that terminated employees’ credentials are immediately terminated and they are not allowed to log in after leaving the company. Additionally, it is important to perform background checks on current employees so that any suspicious behavior can be reported and investigated. This will help raise the alarm bells for any sudden changes in lifestyle, trips out of town or increased debt.
Counterespionage
A central part of counterespionage is thwarting enemy intelligence gathering and espionage. It includes activities such as collecting information about enemy personnel, locating dissidents within the enemy organization, disrupting communication, and more.
Almost all nations have strict laws against espionage, and the penalties for being caught are severe. However, different normative approaches can be taken to the practice. For example, some argue that the “dirty hands” approach to espionage is necessary, since governments must use deceit and other morally dubious actions to protect their citizens. Others take a contractarian approach, which holds that governments have tacitly consented to engage in espionage as long as they are able to control it.
Other forms of espionage include industrial espionage, the clandestine gathering of confidential business information by competitors. Such information may be stolen through open or clandestine methods and can include formulas, designs, and other intellectual property that give a competitor a competitive edge. Several organizations in the United States and Europe specialize in training industrial counterspies.
Cyber espionage involves using computer systems to steal classified information, often from government sources. This type of espionage has become increasingly common and is sometimes sponsored by foreign governments. Unlike traditional spies, hackers can collect information quickly and quietly, without fear of losing their cover. The threat has prompted the development of new countermeasures.
Legal Issues
Espionage is a serious crime. Penalties vary depending on the crime committed and can include long prison sentences, as well as death penalty status for military offenders under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The crimes of espionage are often prosecuted on the grounds that they violate national security, a category that includes any act that could have an impact on the safety or vital interests of the United States. The law on this point is somewhat vague, however, and it is not always clear whether an offender’s actions will actually harm national security or merely make the government more aware of its own vulnerabilities.
A major issue surrounding espionage is its place in international law. Traditionally, governments have been reluctant to regulate the practice because it can undermine their ability to protect their own citizens and secure their territorial integrity. The legality of espionage has been debated on various grounds, including the respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity, the law of war, and international obligations regarding human rights and the prevention of illegal coercive activities during peacetime (Radsan 2007, 596).
The concept of espionage has evolved to include more than just obtaining secret information. The use of cyberwarfare has changed the way in which spies operate, and it has become more difficult for them to conceal their activities from other nations. The legal status of espionage has also been impacted by the fact that international conventions such as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations require that receiving states respect the diplomatic and consular premises of sending states, including a requirement to refrain from conducting espionage on these premises.