Espionage requires the development of hidden activities.
The French word espionnage came to our language as espionage . The first meaning of the term that the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) includes in its dictionary refers to the act of spying : observing surreptitiously, lying in wait.
It can be said that espionage is an activity that is carried out in a hidden manner and that aims to obtain information from a company or a country. Said data is not public, which means espionage allows access to classified, confidential or private content.
How espionage develops
Espionage contemplates multiple actions to obtain information covertly . There are different resources, techniques and methods that are put into practice with the aim of overcoming the barriers that protect or hide data.
It is important to keep in mind that espionage can be legal or illegal . It is generally accepted that a government carries out espionage tasks that allow it to guarantee the security of the nation , protect the interests of the people and safeguard the Constitution . In any case, the laws establish the scope and limits of these efforts: rulers do not have absolute freedom to spy.
Business, corporate or industrial espionage , on the other hand, is always a crime . The most frequent thing is that information theft is incurred to obtain a competitive advantage or to violate the position of another company.
The objective of espionage is to obtain information.
Its importance in times of war
In the context of belligerence, espionage is a key tool. States take advantage of it to improve the defense of their territory and to detect where the enemy can be hurt.
Espionage can also be important when there is a diplomatic or political conflict without an armed confrontation. The struggle between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ) known as the Cold War included acts of espionage, where the American Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) and the Soviet Committee for State Security ( KGB ) had great relevance. .
Even in times of peace between nations, espionage is important for security. Through it, an attempt is made to discover the functioning of terrorist cells that could carry out attacks, for example .
The agents in charge of espionage
The person entrusted to carry out espionage tasks is known as a spy . Depending on the type of function it performs, it receives different specific names.
An undercover agent , in this framework, infiltrates enemy ranks or an organization to obtain information. Called moles in colloquial language, these agents logically hide their true identity and try to gain the trust of those they are spying on.
A double agent , meanwhile, is someone who, in theory , is working for an organization, when in reality he is loyal to the side he is supposed to be spying on. Let's look at a case: Joan Pujol (1912-1988) was a double agent who offered his services to Nazism and, once recruited by the Germans, began to provide internal information to the British Army.
fictional characters
Espionage is a frequent theme of literary works and fictional films. The most famous character is possibly James Bond , Agent 007 of the British intelligence service.
Bond was created by Ian Fleming . He first appeared in the 1952 novel "Casino Royale" and, from then on, starred in dozens of books and films.