People Don't Spy
Anymore, Computers, Cars, Squirrel and Even the Chinese Spy!
They say spying is an old
profession. Second only to prostitution. Well, the latter hasn't
changed much, but the former really, really has.
Spying in the 21st century is
so different than it was even just 25 years ago. Actually spying
has been quiet the same for over 2000 years, sure the art
changes, progresses, being it that is a covert practice, however
over the last 10 years, spying has changed arguably more than in
the past 2 milleniums.
2400 years ago, Sun Tzu said
there are five kinds of spies. 1) The local spy, is a serviceman
or employee working in the enemies district. 2) The insider spy,
is having a local official working for you. 3) a converted spy,
is an enemies spy captured and bribed/threatened to become a
double agent. 4) Doomed spies, are basically, bait for the enemy
5) surviving spies, are ones that come back with intelligence.
One thing that is common
between those 5 types of spies is that they are, well, HUMAN
spies. Humans were the greatest source of gathering
intelligence. They did it with their own two hands, with their
own eyes and ears and they did it for their country. They did it
so they could tip off their country so it can gain advantage
militarily. Surveillance, confiscation (e.g. theft) and
assassination (if necessary) were the tradecraft used to obtain
the necessary intelligence. It has always been that way. Not so
much anymore. First off, spying is mostly performed from the
comfort of ones computer and is done mostly for business
reasons. The methods and instruments are different too
today. Sure humans are still behind the espionage, but they are
no longer the catalyst of gathering intelligence.
Computers Spy...
Computer spyware is a neo spy tool
that uses computer technology in two ways to gather
intelligence. One, there is advertiser spyware or adware that
simply gathers information from people's personal computers,
mostly for marketing reason, albeit. Then there is spy software
and hardware (namely keyloggers) the are used to secretly gather
logs of all computer activity that can be used as evidence, to
steal trade secrets of just to spy on people's private
lives. Those are just private computers that spy. There is also
Carnivore, Echelon and the NSA that spy on global communication
networks but that a whole other story.
Businesses Also Spy...
Military intelligence was the primary focus of spying in the
past. Now economic espionage is the biggest reason for spying.
Major espionage cases are happening in every facet of every
industry. Large corporations that have had Economic
Espionage Act cases in the recent decades include the likes
of Adobe, Avery, Business Engine Software Corporation, Microsoft
and the even today there has been known cases of spying amongst
sports teams (look up "spygate") and even in the F1! McLaren had
been accused of spying on Ferrari. Spying is all about getting
the competitive edge. And if cars needs to spy on other cars, to
win the race, then so be it.
Squirrels Spy Too!!! Also in
the animal world . . . From the BBC translators, an editorial by
Saleh Eskandari headlined "spying squirrels," published July
10 by the Iranian newspaper Resalat.
"A few weeks ago, 14 squirrels
equipped with espionage systems of foreign intelligence services
were captured by [Iranian] intelligence forces along the
country's borders. These trained squirrels, each of which
weighed just over 700 grams, were released on the borders of the
country for intelligence and espionage purposes. According to
the announcement made by Iranian intelligence officials, alert
police officials caught these squirrels before they could carry
out any task.
"Fixing GPS devices, bugging
instruments and advanced cameras in the bodies of trained
animals like squirrels, mice, hamsters, etc, are among modern
methods of collecting intelligence. Given the fast speed and the
special physical features of these animals, they provide special
capabilities for spying operations. Once the animals return to
their place of origin, the intelligence gathered by them is then
offloaded. . . ."
Always thought there was
something NUTS about current intelligence industry practices and
this just validates it.
Wow Even The Chinese Spy! Some
(western) people are a tad behind in terms of the world and its
lighting fast globalization patterns and sociological
advancements. Many still believe that China is a 3rd world
communist country filled with rice fields. Well, they still do
love rice, but the Chinese are becoming so advanced in every
department, militarily, technologically and especially
economically, that they are already a world superpower in
everyway possible. Their open and relentlessly agenda is to
become advanced and powerful in every arena of world politics
(world domination?), and this is highlighted by their countless
attempts (both successful and not) to spy on the USA.
The US FBI Director said that
Chinese intelligence operations against the United States are a major
problem and that the FBI is stepping up counterespionage efforts against
them. Several recent Chinese spy cases highlight the problem of
Beijing's spying, including the case of Los Angeles businesswoman... a
longtime informant for the FBI who was later accused of secretly working
a Chinese intelligence service.
China has repeatedly denied
that it is spying on US military or economic intelligence. While
the USA has declared Chinese espionage the biggest threat on the
net. Of course most of the alleged China spy cases in the USA
are military and economic intelligence related.
Surveillance, confiscation and
assassination are no longer really in use in today's spy world.
There's the odd case of a break in, a gun down or big brother
keeping a look out on a target, but even the most sovereign
spies limit how much of their necks they put on the line for
their good ol' motherland! So to conclude, spying is mixed up
with competition, politics and legality so much so nowadays,
that it seems that less and less people are putting themselves
on the line, which means HUMINT (human intelligence) style spies
like James Bond, really no longer exist... or do they? Maybe
they are that good.
