espionage
Sign in to savethumb|Madame Minna Craucher (right), a Finnish [[socialite and spy, with her chauffeur Boris Wolkowski (left) in 1930s]]
AI overview
Espionage is the act of secretly gathering information for a government or organization, often by placing spies in enemy territory or among rival groups. It matters because nations and organizations use it to gain strategic advantages, understand threats, and make informed decisions about security and foreign policy.
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Article
35 sectionsContents
- History
- Ancient history
- Post-classical history
- Europe
- Renaissance
- Modern history
- United States
- 20th century
- World War I
- World War II
- Cold War
- Post-Cold War
- 21st century
- Targets of espionage
- Methods and terminology
- How the United States defines espionage
- Technology and techniques
- Organization
- Industrial espionage
- Types of agent
- Private espionage
- Law
- Espionage law in the United States
- Use against non-spies
- Espionage law in the UK
- Government intelligence law and its distinction from espionage
- Military intelligence and military justice
- Spy fiction
- See also
- References
- Citations
- Works cited
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|Madame Minna Craucher (right), a Finnish [[socialite and spy, with her chauffeur Boris Wolkowski (left) in 1930s]]
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret, confidential, or in some way valuable information. Such information is also referred to as intelligence. A professional trained in conducting intelligence operations by their government may be employed as an intelligence officer. Espionage may be conducted in a foreign country, domestically or remotely. The practice is clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be a legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law.