Some intelligence officers may operate under non-official cover to conceal the fact that they work for an intelligence service - posing as a business person, student or journalist for example. They may operate openly, declaring themselves as representatives of foreign intelligence services to their host nation, or covertly under the cover of other official positions such as diplomatic staff or trade delegates. They will be highly trained in espionage techniques and the use of agents. Intelligence officers are members of intelligence services. Spies working for states fall into two categories: intelligence officers and agents. The UK's long tradition of political tolerance has meant that many foreign dissidents have made their homes here over the years - most famously the Russian revolutionaries Lenin and Trotsky - but this has also prompted the sometimes hostile interest of foreign intelligence services and this continues to the present day. Some foreign governments also target dissident movements and individuals that they see as a threat to their control at home. Foreign governments could use such information to gain advantage in areas such as international relations and intelligence operations. These will include confidential information on political and security affairs, negotiating positions, sensitive economic information and details of policy developments. In addition, previous incidences of the theft or release of sensitive information have been instigated by competitors, media organisations, activist groups, past employees and even existing staff - the consequences of which are no less costly, embarrassing or disruptive to the organisation that was targeted. All of which can help provide other countries with an economic advantage or enable foreign companies to establish a market lead using UK innovation. Information of interest could extend from manufacturing processes and research programmes through to negotiating positions, financial transactions and longer-term strategy developments. Such secrets may also help give some countries an economic or military advantage. Examples include communications technologies, computers, genetics, aviation, lasers, optics and electronics. Spies are especially interested in details of new inventions that may have a military or commercial use. These will include information on companies' products and plans. It can also be useful to terrorists, as it can help them to pick out targets and weak points. It can help an enemy to find weak points or launch surprise attacks. This can be especially useful to an enemy country in wartime. These will include technical information about weapons, details of where troops are located, information on defences and so on. The most capable foreign intelligence services are able to operate all over the world. A foreign intelligence service operates best in its own country and therefore finds it easier to target UK interests at home, where they can control the environment and take advantage of any perceived vulnerabilities. The threat is not confined to within the UK itself. Many countries actively seek UK information and material to advance their own military, technological, political and economic programmes. The UK is a high priority espionage target. They sometimes do this on behalf of state-owned or sponsored companies in their own countries. Intelligence services, therefore, are targeting commercial as well as government-related organisations. They now include communications technologies, IT, energy, scientific research, defence, aviation, electronics and many other fields. These targets remain of critical importance but in today's technology-driven world, the intelligence requirements of a number of countries are wider than before. In the past, espionage activity was typically directed towards obtaining political and military intelligence. In fact, it often helps us to build good relationships with other nations. This type of work is not harmful to our national interests. Foreign representatives thereby help their governments to shape their foreign, commercial and military policies. This enables them to monitor political, economic and military developments in their host country and brief their own governments. They use open sources such as the media, conferences, diplomatic events and trade fairs, and through open contact with host government representatives. The gathering of publicly available information is a routine activity of diplomatic staff, military attachs and trade delegations. It may also involve seeking to influence decision-makers and opinion-formers to benefit the interests of a foreign power. This is not the same as espionage.Įspionage is the process of obtaining information that is not normally publicly available, using human sources (agents) or technical means (like hacking into computer systems). Most governments rely on a range of information being gathered to guide their decisions.
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