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67-488: The scope of the JTRIG's mission includes using "dirty tricks" to "destroy, deny, degrade [and] disrupt" enemies by "discrediting" them, planting misinformation and shutting down their communications. Known as "Effects" operations, the work of JTRIG had become a "major part" of GCHQ's operations by 2010. Slides leaked by Snowden also disclose the deployment of " honey traps " of a sexual nature by British intelligence agents. In 2011,

134-628: A combination of the two." However, espionage and intelligence can be linked. According to the MI5 website, "foreign intelligence officers acting in the UK under diplomatic cover may enjoy immunity from prosecution. Such persons can only be tried for spying (or, indeed, any criminal offence) if diplomatic immunity is waived beforehand. Those officers operating without diplomatic cover have no such immunity from prosecution". There are also laws surrounding government and organisational intelligence and surveillance. Generally,

201-661: A disguised spy and a disguised escaper. It is permissible for these groups to wear enemy uniforms or civilian clothes in order to facilitate their escape back to friendly lines so long as they do not attack enemy forces, collect military intelligence, or engage in similar military operations while so disguised. Soldiers who are wearing enemy uniforms or civilian clothes simply for the sake of warmth along with other purposes rather than engaging in espionage or similar military operations while so attired are also excluded from being treated as unlawful combatants. Saboteurs are treated as spies as they too wear disguises behind enemy lines for

268-413: A legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law. Espionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. However, the term tends to be associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies for military purposes. Spying involving corporations is known as industrial espionage . One way to gather data and information about

335-597: A long history of use in espionage. During the Cold War , female agents called "Mozhno girls" or "Mozhnos" were used by the KGB of the USSR to spy on foreign officials by seducing them. The name Mozhno comes from the Russian word " mozhno " ( Russian : можно ), meaning "it is permitted", as these agents were allowed to breach regulations restricting Russian contact with foreigners. In 2009,

402-651: A prison sentence until his death in 2023. Espionage laws are also used to prosecute non-spies. In the United States, the Espionage Act of 1917 was used against socialist politician Eugene V. Debs (at that time the Act had much stricter guidelines and amongst other things banned speech against military recruiting). The law was later used to suppress publication of periodicals, for example of Father Coughlin in World War II . In

469-483: A prisoner of war. This provision does not apply to citizens who committed treason against their own country or co-belligerents of that country and may be captured and prosecuted at any place or any time regardless whether he rejoined the military to which he belongs or not or during or after the war. The ones that are excluded from being treated as spies while behind enemy lines are escaping prisoners of war and downed airmen as international law distinguishes between

536-565: A second meeting to the subject. Whether or not the subject agrees to further communication will determine whether the assignment will go deeper or come to an end. Hotels are often used as a meeting place to determine whether the subject intends for the relationship to escalate. Once the investigation comes to an end, the agent will turn over any record of communication they had with the subject. Other documents that are recorded include: photographs, videos, venue appointments, etc. Espionage Espionage , spying , or intelligence gathering

603-569: A targeted organization is by infiltrating its ranks. Spies can then return information such as the size and strength of enemy forces . They can also find dissidents within the organization and influence them to provide further information or to defect. In times of crisis, spies steal technology and sabotage the enemy in various ways. Counterintelligence is the practice of thwarting enemy espionage and intelligence-gathering. Almost all sovereign states have strict laws concerning espionage, including those who practice espionage in other countries, and

670-582: A theory of espionage foreshadowing modern police-state methods. During the American Revolution , Nathan Hale and Benedict Arnold achieved their fame as spies, and there was considerable use of spies on both sides during the American Civil War . Though not a spy himself, George Washington was America's first spymaster, utilizing espionage tactics against the British. In the 20th century, at

737-414: A user from logging on to their computer. Information obtained by GCHQ is also used in "close access technical operations," in which targets are physically observed by intelligence officers, sometimes in person at hotels. Telephone calls can also be listened to and hotel computers tapped, the documents asking "Can we influence hotel choice? Can we cancel their visits?". In a "honey trap", an identified target

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804-416: A website and change the outcome of online polls. Honey trapping Honey trapping is a practice involving the use of romantic or sexual relationships for interpersonal, political (including state espionage ), or monetary purpose. The honey pot or trap involves making contact with an individual who has information or resources required by a group or individual; the trapper will then seek to entice

871-440: Is also employed for an individual who is not an illegal agent, but is an ordinary citizen who is "relocated", for example, a "protected witness". Nevertheless, such a non-agent very likely will also have a case officer who will act as a controller. As in most, if not all synthetic identity schemes, for whatever purpose (illegal or legal), the assistance of a controller is required. Spies may also be used to spread disinformation in

938-410: Is always directed at the most secret operations of a target country. National and terrorist organizations and other groups are also targeted. This is because governments want to retrieve information that they can use to be proactive in protecting their nation from potential terrorist attacks. Communications both are necessary to espionage and clandestine operations , and also a great vulnerability when

1005-443: Is considered espionage. Many HUMINT activities, such as prisoner interrogation , reports from military reconnaissance patrols and from diplomats, etc., are not considered espionage. Espionage is the disclosure of sensitive information (classified) to people who are not cleared for that information or access to that sensitive information. Unlike other forms of intelligence collection disciplines , espionage usually involves accessing

1072-548: Is considered permissible as many nations recognize the inevitability of opposing sides seeking intelligence each about the dispositions of the other. To make the mission easier and successful, combatants wear disguises to conceal their true identity from the enemy while penetrating enemy lines for intelligence gathering. However, if they are caught behind enemy lines in disguises, they are not entitled to prisoner-of-war status and subject to prosecution and punishment—including execution . The Hague Convention of 1907 addresses

1139-479: Is lured "to go somewhere on the Internet, or a physical location" to be met by "a friendly face", with the aim to discredit them. A "honey trap" is described as "very successful when it works" by the slides. The disclosures also revealed the technique of "credential harvesting", in which journalists could be used to disseminate information and identify non-British journalists who, once manipulated, could give information to

1206-399: Is more common usage. A case officer or Special Agent , who may have diplomatic status (i.e., official cover or non-official cover ), supports and directs the human collector. Cut-outs are couriers who do not know the agent or case officer but transfer messages. A safe house is a refuge for spies. Spies often seek to obtain secret information from another source. In larger networks,

1273-426: Is suspected of the "target", or subject of the investigation. Occasionally, the term may be used for the practice of creating an affair for the purpose of taking incriminating photos for use in blackmail . A honey trap is used primarily to collect evidence on the subject of the honey trap. Honey trapping is also used in getting a new user addicted to illegal drugs and also for drug smuggling. Honey trapping has

1340-426: Is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence ). A person who commits espionage is called an espionage agent or spy . Any individual or spy ring (a cooperating group of spies), in the service of a government , company , criminal organization , or independent operation, can commit espionage. The practice is clandestine , as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be

1407-534: Is the person who does the spying. They may be a citizen of a country recruited by that country to spy on another; a citizen of a country recruited by that country to carry out false flag assignments disrupting his own country; a citizen of one country who is recruited by a second country to spy on or work against his own country or a third country, and more. In popular usage, this term is sometimes confused with an intelligence officer , intelligence operative , or case officer who recruits and handles agents. Among

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1474-687: Is very much distinct from espionage, and is not illegal in the UK, providing that the organisations of individuals are registered, often with the ICO, and are acting within the restrictions of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). 'Intelligence' is considered legally as "information of all sorts gathered by a government or organisation to guide its decisions. It includes information that may be both public and private, obtained from much different public or secret sources. It could consist entirely of information from either publicly available or secret sources, or be

1541-607: The American Zone of occupied Germany . The U.S. codification of enemy spies is Article 106 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice . This provides a mandatory death sentence if a person captured in the act is proven to be "lurking as a spy or acting as a spy in or about any place, vessel, or aircraft, within the control or jurisdiction of any of the armed forces, or in or about any shipyard, any manufacturing or industrial plant, or any other place or institution engaged in work in aid of

1608-941: The Bible , and the Amarna letters . Espionage was also prevalent in the Greco-Roman world , when spies employed illiterate subjects in civil services . The thesis that espionage and intelligence has a central role in war as well as peace was first advanced in The Art of War and in the Arthashastra . In the Middle Ages European states excelled at what has later been termed counter- subversion when Catholic inquisitions were staged to annihilate heresy . Inquisitions were marked by centrally organised mass interrogations and detailed record keeping. Western espionage changed fundamentally during

1675-618: The British MI5 distributed a 14-page document to hundreds of British banks, businesses, and financial institutions, titled "The Threat from Chinese Espionage". It described a wide-ranging Chinese effort to blackmail Western business people over sexual relationships. The document explicitly warns that Chinese intelligence services are trying to cultivate "long-term relationships" and have been known to "exploit vulnerabilities such as sexual relationships ... to pressurise individuals to co-operate with them." Each assignment varies depending on what

1742-738: The Office of Strategic Services was founded by Gen. William J. Donovan . However, the British system was the keystone of Allied intelligence. Numerous resistance groups such as the Austrian Maier -Messner Group, the French Resistance , the Witte Brigade , Milorg and the Polish Home Army worked against Nazi Germany and provided the Allied secret services with information that was very important for

1809-637: The Uniform Code of Military Justice . The United States, like most nations, conducts espionage against other nations, under the control of the National Clandestine Service . Britain's espionage activities are controlled by the Secret Intelligence Service . Source: A spy is a person employed to seek out top secret information from a source. Within the United States Intelligence Community , " asset "

1876-648: The Vietnam War . Some Islamic countries, including Libya , Iran and Syria , have highly developed operations as well. SAVAK , the secret police of the Pahlavi dynasty , was particularly feared by Iranian dissidents before the 1979 Iranian Revolution . Today, spy agencies target the illegal drug trade and terrorists as well as state actors. Intelligence services value certain intelligence collection techniques over others. The former Soviet Union, for example, preferred human sources over research in open sources , while

1943-441: The death penalty . Venice became obsessed with espionage because successful international trade demanded that the city-state could protect its trade secrets . Under Queen Elizabeth I of England ( r.  1558–1603 ), Francis Walsingham ( c.  1532–1590) was appointed foreign secretary and intelligence chief. The novelist and journalist Daniel Defoe (died 1731) not only spied for the British government, but also developed

2010-690: The nuclear programme of Iran with negative information on blogs attacking private companies, to affect business relationships and scupper business deals. JTRIG also undertook cyber-operations as part of a wider GCHQ mission to prevent the Argentine takeover of the Falkland Islands . The scope of the cyber tactics used in this operation was unclear. The name given to JTRIG's role was Operation Quito. In June 2015, NSA files published by Glenn Greenwald revealed new details about JTRIG's work at covertly manipulating online communities and internal activities within

2077-544: The 1947 National Security Act created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to coordinate intelligence and the National Security Agency for research into codes and electronic communication. In addition to these, the United States has 13 other intelligence gathering agencies; most of the U.S. expenditures for intelligence gathering are budgeted to various Defense Dept. agencies and their programs. Under

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2144-650: The Hague Convention of 1907, these Germans were classified as spies and tried by a military tribunal in Washington D.C. On August 3, 1942, all eight were found guilty and sentenced to death. Five days later, six were executed by electric chair at the District of Columbia jail. Two who had given evidence against the others had their sentences reduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to prison terms. In 1948, they were released by President Harry S. Truman and deported to

2211-512: The JTRIG conducted a denial-of-service attack (DoS) on the activist network Anonymous . Other JTRIG targets have included the government of Iran and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Campaigns operated by JTRIG have broadly fallen into two categories; cyber attacks and propaganda efforts. The propaganda efforts (named "Online Covert Action") utilize "mass messaging" and the "pushing [of] stories" via

2278-640: The Renaissance when Italian city-states installed resident ambassadors in capital cities to collect intelligence. Renaissance Venice became so obsessed with espionage that the Council of Ten , which was nominally responsible for security , did not even allow the doge to consult government archives freely. In 1481 the Council of Ten barred all Venetian government officials from making contact with ambassadors or foreigners. Those revealing official secrets could face

2345-848: The Soviet Union for the CIA, was shot down and captured. During the Cold War, many Soviet intelligence officials defected to the West, including Gen. Walter Krivitsky , Victor Kravchenko , Vladimir Petrov , Peter Deriabin, Pawel Monat and Oleg Penkovsky of the GRU . Among Western officials who defected to the Soviet Union are Guy Burgess and Donald D. Maclean of Great Britain in 1951, Otto John of West Germany in 1954, William H. Martin and Bernon F. Mitchell , U.S. cryptographers, in 1960, and Harold (Kim) Philby of Great Britain in 1962. U.S. acknowledgment of its U-2 flights and

2412-854: The United Kingdom. UK agencies that JTRIG says it co-operates with include the Metropolitan police, Security Service (MI5) , National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Agency, Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and National Public Order and Intelligence Unit (NPOIU). It is also involved in what it calls "missions" with various other agencies described as "customers", including the Bank of England, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Info-weapons held or being developed by JTRIG can be used to send bulk email, spoof SMS messages, impersonate Facebook posts for individuals or entire countries, artificially increase traffic to

2479-594: The United States and some other jurisdictions can only occur if they take up arms or aids the enemy against their own country during wartime), or even executed, as the Rosenbergs were. For example, when Aldrich Ames handed a stack of dossiers of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents in the Eastern Bloc to his KGB-officer "handler", the KGB "rolled up" several networks, and at least ten people were secretly shot. When Ames

2546-437: The United States has tended to emphasize technological methods such as SIGINT and IMINT . In the Soviet Union, both political ( KGB ) and military intelligence ( GRU ) officers were judged by the number of agents they recruited. Espionage agents are usually trained experts in a targeted field so they can differentiate mundane information from targets of value to their own organizational development. Correct identification of

2613-421: The adversary has sophisticated SIGINT detection and interception capability. Spies rely on COVCOM or covert communication through technically advanced spy devices. Agents must also transfer money securely. Reportedly Canada is losing $ 12 billion and German companies are estimated to be losing about €50 billion ($ 87 billion) and 30,000 jobs to industrial espionage every year. In espionage jargon, an "agent"

2680-410: The agent and client decide on during their prior consultation. A common assignment consists of the agent initiating contact with the subject through face-to-face interaction . The agent will attempt to take the communication further into other outlets including: e-mail, text messaging, phone calls, etc. The step after this can be considered the most crucial moment of the assignment. The agent will propose

2747-564: The body involved should be issued with some form of warrant or permission from the government and should be enacting their procedures in the interest of protecting national security or the safety of public citizens. Those carrying out intelligence missions should act within not only RIPA but also the Data Protection Act and Human Rights Act. However, there are spy equipment laws and legal requirements around intelligence methods that vary for each form of intelligence enacted. In war, espionage

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2814-639: The early 21st century, the act was used to prosecute whistleblowers such as Thomas Andrews Drake , John Kiriakou , and Edward Snowden , as well as officials who communicated with journalists for innocuous reasons, such as Stephen Jin-Woo Kim . As of 2012 , India and Pakistan were holding several hundred prisoners of each other's country for minor violations like trespass or visa overstay, often with accusations of espionage attached. Some of these include cases where Pakistan and India both deny citizenship to these people, leaving them stateless . The BBC reported in 2012 on one such case, that of Mohammed Idrees, who

2881-509: The exchange of Francis Gary Powers for Rudolf Abel in 1962 implied the legitimacy of some espionage as an arm of foreign policy. China has a very cost-effective intelligence program that is especially effective in monitoring neighboring countries such as Mongolia , Russia and India . Smaller countries can also mount effective and focused espionage efforts. For instance, the Vietnamese communists had consistently superior intelligence during

2948-636: The height of World War I , all great powers except the United States had elaborate civilian espionage systems, and all national military establishments had intelligence units. In order to protect the country against foreign agents, the U.S. Congress passed the Espionage Act of 1917 . Mata Hari , who obtained information for Germany by seducing French officials, was the most noted espionage agent of World War I. Prior to World War II , Germany and Imperial Japan established elaborate espionage nets. In 1942

3015-541: The intelligence reorganization of 2004, the director of national intelligence is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the activities and budgets of the U.S. intelligence agencies. In the Cold War , espionage cases included Alger Hiss , Whittaker Chambers and the Rosenberg Case. In 1952 the Communist Chinese captured two CIA agents and in 1960 Francis Gary Powers , flying a U-2 reconnaissance mission over

3082-410: The intended target of a secret campaign, perhaps providing access during an interview. It is unknown whether the journalists would be aware that they were being manipulated. A JTRIG operation saw GCHQ "significantly disrupt" the communications of the Taliban in Afghanistan with a "blizzard" of faxes, phone calls and text messages scheduled to arrive every minute. Specific JTRIG operations also targeted

3149-445: The medium of Twitter , Flickr , Facebook and YouTube . Online " false flag " operations are also used by JTRIG against targets. JTRIG have also changed photographs on social media sites, as well as emailing and texting colleagues and neighbours with "unsavory information" about the targeted individual. JTRIG developed a URL shortening service called Lurl.me to manipulate and collect intelligence on social media users. The service

3216-508: The more common practice is to recruit a person already trusted with access to sensitive information, sometimes a person with a well-prepared synthetic identity (cover background), called a legend in tradecraft , may attempt to infiltrate a target organization. These agents can be moles (who are recruited before they get access to secrets), defectors (who are recruited after they get access to secrets and leave their country) or defectors in place (who get access but do not leave). A legend

3283-451: The most common forms of agent are: Less common or lesser known forms of agent include: Espionage against a nation is a crime under the legal code of many nations. In the United States, it is covered by the Espionage Act of 1917 . The risks of espionage vary. A spy violating the host country's laws may be deported, imprisoned, or even executed. A spy violating its own country's laws can be imprisoned for espionage or/and treason (which in

3350-437: The national defence with an intent, or reason to believe, that the information may be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation". Black's Law Dictionary (1990) defines espionage as: "... gathering, transmitting, or losing ... information related to the national defense ". Espionage is a violation of United States law, 18 U.S.C.   §§ 792 – 798 and Article 106a of

3417-438: The organization can be complex with many methods to avoid detection, including clandestine cell systems . Often the players have never met. Case officers are stationed in foreign countries to recruit and supervise intelligence agents, who in turn spy on targets in the countries where they are assigned. A spy need not be a citizen of the target country and hence does not automatically commit treason when operating within it. While

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3484-688: The organization in which they are planted, such as giving false reports about their country's military movements, or about a competing company's ability to bring a product to market. Spies may be given other roles that also require infiltration, such as sabotage . Many governments spy on their allies as well as their enemies, although they typically maintain a policy of not commenting on this. Governments also employ private companies to collect information on their behalf such as SCG International Risk , International Intelligence Limited and others. Many organizations, both national and non-national, conduct espionage operations. It should not be assumed that espionage

3551-447: The penalties for being caught are often severe. Espionage has been recognized as of importance in military affairs since ancient times. The oldest known classified document was a report made by a spy disguised as a diplomatic envoy in the court of King Hammurabi , who died in around 1750 BC. The ancient Egyptians had a developed secret service, and espionage is mentioned in the Iliad ,

3618-423: The penalty for espionage in many countries was execution. This was true right up until the era of World War II ; for example, Josef Jakobs was a Nazi spy who parachuted into Great Britain in 1941 and was executed for espionage. In modern times, many people convicted of espionage have been given penal sentences rather than execution. For example, Aldrich Hazen Ames is an American CIA analyst, turned KGB mole, who

3685-511: 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 . There are exceptions to physical meetings, such as the Oslo Report , or the insistence of Robert Hanssen in never meeting the people who bought his information. The US defines espionage towards itself as "the act of obtaining, delivering, transmitting, communicating, or receiving information about

3752-513: The problems to tensions caused by the Kashmir conflict . Espionage is illegal in the UK under the National Security Act 2023 , which repealed prior Official Secrets Acts and creates three separate offences for espionage. A person is liable to be imprisoned for life for committing an offence under Section 1 of the Act, or 14 years for an offence under Sections 2 and 3 Government intelligence

3819-476: The purpose of acquiring intelligence are not considered spies but are lawful combatants entitled to be treated as prisoners of war upon capture by the enemy. Article 30 states that a spy captured behind enemy lines may only be punished following a trial. However, Article 31 provides that if a spy successfully rejoined his own military and is then captured by the enemy as a lawful combatant, he cannot be punished for his previous acts of espionage and must be treated as

3886-500: The purpose of waging destruction on an enemy's vital targets in addition to intelligence gathering. For example, during World War II , eight German agents entered the U.S. in June 1942 as part of Operation Pastorius , a sabotage mission against U.S. economic targets. Two weeks later, all were arrested in civilian clothes by the FBI thanks to two German agents betraying the mission to the U.S. Under

3953-435: The status of wartime spies, specifically within "Laws and Customs of War on Land" (Hague IV); October 18, 1907: Chapter II Spies". Article 29 states that a person is considered a spy who, acts clandestinely or on false pretences, infiltrates enemy lines with the intention of acquiring intelligence about the enemy and communicate it to the belligerent during times of war. Soldiers who penetrate enemy lines in proper uniforms for

4020-545: The target at its execution is the sole purpose of the espionage operation. Broad areas of espionage targeting expertise include: Although the news media may speak of "spy satellites" and the like, espionage is not a synonym for all intelligence-gathering disciplines. It is a specific form of human source intelligence ( HUMINT ). Codebreaking ( cryptanalysis or COMINT ), aircraft or satellite photography ( IMINT ), and analysis of publicly available data sources ( OSINT ) are all intelligence gathering disciplines, but none of them

4087-404: The target into a false relationship (which may or may not include actual physical involvement) in which they can glean information or influence over the target. The term "honey trap" is also used when dating sites are used to gain access to a victim. Private investigators are often employed to create a honey pot by wives, husbands, and other partners usually when an illicit romantic affair

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4154-519: The war effort. Since the end of World War II , the activity of espionage has enlarged, much of it growing out of the Cold War between the United States and the former USSR . The Russian Empire and its successor, the Soviet Union , have had a long tradition of espionage ranging from the Okhrana to the KGB (Committee for State Security), which also acted as a secret police force. In the United States,

4221-498: Was arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he faced life in prison; his contact, who had diplomatic immunity , was declared persona non grata and taken to the airport. Ames' 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—and died there—as he

4288-454: Was convicted of espionage in 1994; he is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the high-security Allenwood U.S. Penitentiary . Ames was formerly a 31-year CIA counterintelligence officer and analyst who committed espionage against his country by spying for the Soviet Union and Russia . So far as it is known, Ames compromised the second-largest number of CIA agents, second only to Robert Hanssen , who also served

4355-411: Was held under Indian police control for approximately 13 years for overstaying his 15-day visa by 2–3 days after seeing his ill parents in 1999. Much of the 13 years were spent in prison waiting for a hearing, and more time was spent homeless or living with generous families. The Indian People's Union for Civil Liberties and Human Rights Law Network both decried his treatment. The BBC attributed some of

4422-691: Was operating without diplomatic cover and immunity. In United States law, treason, espionage, and spying are separate crimes. Treason and espionage have graduated punishment levels. The United States in World War I passed the Espionage Act of 1917. Over the years, many spies, such as the Soble spy ring , Robert Lee Johnson , the Rosenberg ring , Aldrich Hazen Ames , Robert Philip Hanssen , Jonathan Pollard , John Anthony Walker , James Hall III , and others have been prosecuted under this law. From ancient times,

4489-506: Was used to spread pro-revolution messages in the Middle East during the Arab Spring . A computer virus named Ambassadors Reception has been used by GCHQ "in a variety of different areas" and has been described in the slides as "very effective." The virus can "encrypt itself, delete all emails, encrypt all files, [and] make [the] screen shake" when sent to adversaries. The virus can also block

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