• Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Dave Fayram
  
  

Definition

• Espionage is defined as "the practice of obtaining secrets (spying) from rivals or enemies for military, political or economic advantage using illegal or unethical methods," according to International Investigations Inc. The threat of espionage exists from both foreign and domestic sources that target the government or the private sector. The penalties for spying can be stiff, ranging from fines and prison terms to death.
  
  

Espionage Act of 1917

• The U.S. government passed this law, which prohibits espionage for a foreign country and orders heavy penalties for those convicted, according to History.com. The law forbids gathering and communicating information related to national defense to a foreign entity, and interference with the recruitment or loyalty of the armed forces. Using the U.S. mail to urge treason or resistance to U.S. law, passport fraud and unauthorized representation of a foreign government are also prohibited by this law. One of the most famous cases of the violation of this act was that of American communists Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were accused of giving secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. They were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and executed in 1953.
  
  

Military Espionage

• The threat of military espionage, especially during wartime, is of the utmost concern to any militarized country and great efforts are taken to protect military secrets. Foreign spies seek to uncover information that can give them a military advantage such as strategic plans, communication codes and weapons development. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, catapulting the U.S. into WWII, Japanese spies managed to crack U.S. military communications codes. They knew ahead of time when and where the Americans were going to attack. The U.S. enlisted the help of the famed Navajo code talkers who came up with a complex code based on the Navajo language. The American military used this code to keep their combat missions a secret and the code talkers were credited with helping U.S. forces take Iwo Jima.
  
  

Political Espionage

• In the highly competitive U.S. political system, threats of espionage are ubiquitous. When political parties rival for positions of power, spying can be used to gain an advantage. Probably the most infamous case of political espionage in America was the Watergate scandal of the 1970s. During Republican President Richard Nixon's campaign for re-election, he was linked to a break-in of the Watergate office building in Washington D.C., headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Five men were arrested for breaking in and attempting to photograph documents and wiretap phone lines. Oval office recordings revealed Nixon's involvement in covering up the break-in, and the incident ultimately led to his resignation.
  
  

Industrial and Economic Espionage

• There are also threats of espionage within the private sector. Trade secrets are heavily guarded by companies who wish to keep their production processes to themselves. Rival companies may use spies to discover secret ingredients for use in their own products, or financial information which may allow them to gain leverage in business deals. Espionage can also occur from the inside, meaning a corporation may employ people to spy on their own employees to uncover inefficiency, theft or worker unrest, says High Beam Research.
  
  

Digital Espionage

• In this digital age, a new type of espionage has emerged, known as cyber-espionage or hacking. From any computer in the world, those with enough knowledge and expertise can hack into a government or private sector computer and steal secret information. In 2007, U.S. intelligence agencies reported that cyber spies in China had hacked into the Pentagon's network and viewed secret Department of Defense information, according to Security Focus.