Espionage is also called spying, and who do an espionage operation is called an espionage agent or spy. Espionage operation is a covert operation as it is illegal and against the law in many countries. It is the process of getting secret and confidential information without the permission and knowledge of the owner of the information from rival individuals, competitors, groups, governments and enemies for personal, economic, political or military advantage. By doing espionage operations spies help various government or business agencies get rival’s secret and confidential information.
Espionage operations can be done by a corporation group of spies or even by an individual. Espionage operations are done covertly, as espionage operations are illegal in many countries. Government organizations and business organizations do espionage to gather secret and confidential information of the rival government and organization which are not disclosed by rival government and business.
Basically Government secret intelligence institutions are associated with espionage operation to obtain military secret information.
Espionage operation done by Spies Corporation, in the service of business organization is known as industrial espionage.
How espionage operation works
Although Espionage Operations are illegal and against the law in many countries, but many Governments and big business organizations makes use of espionage operations.
Firstly, Espionage Agent infiltrates rival Government or business organization’s rank, and then they give secret and confidential information about rival Government and business organization. Espionage agents even gather information from the insurgent of the rival Government and business organization.
Secondly, espionage operations are also done by using the internet, network or individuals computer. It is the process of installing malicious program on victims system. By installing malicious programs espionage agents gather confidential and secret information from rival individual, business organization or government’s computers.
Who are the targets of espionage operations
The primary purpose of an espionage operation is obtaining the secret and confidential information of the rival government organization and business organization which are not disclosed by the rival Government organization and Business organization. Various Governments make use of Espionage operation to gather confidential information about rival countries military, other various confidential documents. Business organizations make use of espionage operation to gather rival business secret business related and secret financial information.
Various types of espionage operations
Espionage operations are of various types. These are as follows.
- Cyber Espionage
- Industrial Espionage / Corporate Espionage
- Nuclear Espionage
- Military Intelligence Espionage
Latest Headlines & case scenarios related to Cyber Espionage Operations
1. Chinese military stealing pentagons secret information by espionage operations – According to Pentagon’s report, China using espionage to steal information for military purposes. The report said that China had used espionage techniques to obtain sensitive, dual-use, or military-grade equipment from the US.
2. Chinese and Iranian Hackers increase Their Attacks on U.S. – According to New York Times report, Chinese and Iranian hackers have increased their target on U.S. Companies and Government Agencies. Dozens of U.S. banks, business and government agencies had been hit by Chinese and Iranian hackers due to Donald Trump’s conflicts with these two countries.
3. Pakistan’s External Affairs Ministry site hacked – According to the Pakistan’s leading newspaper DAWN, Pakistan’s Ministry of External Affairs website hacked by Indian hackers. Some reports also said that Pakistan Army website was also hacked. According to the DAWN’s reports, Ministry of External Affairs website was accessible from Pakistan, but people who visited this website from outside Pakistan like Holland, Australia, Britain and Saudi Arabia was facing problem opening it.
4. WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange charged with 17 new criminal counts under Espionage Act – The U.S. Government charged WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange charged with 17 new criminal counts under Espionage Act for illegally obtain and disclosing national defence information.
5. Iranian Cyber espionage tools source code leaked online: – Iranian Cyber Espionage group’s (also known as APT34, Oilrig, or HelixKitten ) tools source code leaked on Telegram. These tools are similar sophisticated as NSA’s tool that leaked in 2017.
6. Saudi Arabian and United States organizations are targeted by Elfin Cyber Espionage group – According to Cyber Security Company Symantec, Elfin Cyber Espionage group is targeting Saudi Arabian and United States governments agencies, chemical organizations, engineering organizations, manufacturing organizations, consulting sector, telecom sectors and several other sectors .