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The act of collecting secret or confidential information through non-disclosed sources and then disclosing it without the consent of the information’s owner is referred to as espionage or spying. An espionage agent or spy is a person who performs espionage. Espionage can be committed by any individual or spy ring (a group of spies that work together in the service of a government, corporation, or independent organization). The practice is hidden since it is undesirable by definition. In some cases, it may be a legitimate weapon of law enforcement, but it may also be illegal and punished by law in others.

Espionage is frequently part of a government or business concern’s institutional endeavor. However, the word is usually linked with military surveillance on potential or existing opponents by governments. Industrial espionage is the term for corporate spying.

Infiltrating a target organization’s ranks is one of the most effective techniques to acquire data and information. This is what a spy’s work entails (espionage agent). Spies can then relay intelligence such as enemy force number and strength. They can also locate internal dissidents and persuade them to submit further information or defect.

Spies steal technology and undermine the adversary in numerous ways during times of crisis. The process of preventing enemy espionage and intelligence gathering is known as counterintelligence. Almost every country has stringent espionage laws, and the penalties for being discovered are typically severe. However, the benefits garnered by espionage are frequently so substantial that most governments and many big businesses use it.

A report written by a spy masquerading as a diplomatic emissary at the court of King Hammurabi, who died around 1750 B.C., is the oldest known secret document. The Ancient Egyptians had a well-developed secret service, and espionage is referenced in the Iliad, Bible, Amarna letters, and the Old Testament narrative The Twelve Spies. Spies used illiterate subjects in governmental offices to carry out espionage in the Greco-Roman civilization.

The Art of War and the Arthashastra were the first to propose that espionage and intelligence play a key role in both war and peace. European nations excelled in what is now known as counter-subversion throughout the Middle Ages, when Catholic inquisitions were held to eradicate heresy. The centrally organized mass interrogations and meticulous record keeping were hallmarks of the Inquisitions. During the Renaissance, European governments supported codebreakers who used frequency analysis to gather intelligence. During the Renaissance, when Italian city-states placed resident ambassadors in major towns to collect intelligence, Western espionage evolved dramatically.

Renaissance Venice grew so preoccupied with espionage that the Council of Ten, which was supposed to be in charge of security, forbade the doge from freely consulting official archives. The Council of Ten forbade any Venetian government employees from communicating with ambassadors or outsiders in 1481. Those who disclose state secrets may face the death sentence. Because successful foreign trade necessitated the city-ability state’s to preserve its trade secrets, Venice grew preoccupied with espionage. Francis Walsingham was appointed foreign secretary and intelligence head by Elizabeth I.

Nathan Hale and Benedict Arnold rose to prominence as spies during the American Revolution, while spies were used extensively on both sides throughout the American Civil War. George Washington was America’s first spymaster, employing espionage methods against the British, while not being a spy himself.

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