With increasing competition for limited resources, the business community projected these losses to intensify in the coming years.Īs is the business community, the U.S. The greatest losses, they noted, involved manufacturing processing and R&D (research and development) information. business community said that economic espionage cost them anywhere from $100–250 billion in lost sales. Sabotage is the act of using spies to gain information about what a government or a company does or plans to do.įor the year 2000, in particular, the U.S. We also work closely with the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), other government departments, the police where appropriate, and other security and intelligence organisations in the UK and overseas.įor more information on MI5's work in countering the threat posed by foreign intelligence officers over the years, see our History section or the authorised history of MI5, The Defence of the Realm.For years the United States has been worried about becoming a target of foreign economic and industrial espionage. The fight against foreign espionage is not just a matter for MI5. In the case of some nationalities requiring a visa to enter the UK, MI5 can suggest to the Secretary of State that this is refused for a known intelligence officer. Occasionally, if a foreign intelligence officer's activities are especially intrusive or threaten real damage to UK interests, they may be required by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to leave the UK. We do this by providing security advice to companies and organisations that have sought-after information and equipment. We also seek to make it more difficult for foreign intelligence services to operate in the UK.
POLITICAL COMPUTER ESPIONAGE DEFINITION HOW TO
We advise on how to avoid or deal with an approach if it happens. Often, it involves alerting someone to a foreign intelligence service's interest in recruiting them. We also investigate and disrupt the actions of foreign intelligence officers where these are damaging to our country’s interests. We seek to find those trying to pass sensitive UK information and equipment to other countries and to ensure they don't succeed. We are also heavily engaged in protective security work, which helps to frustrate both terrorism and espionage. MI5 has a branch dedicated to countering espionage and cyber threats. And the theft of classified technologies could enable foreign companies to copy them, threatening both national security and jobs in the UK.Ĭountering this threat is therefore a key priority for MI5.
Information on key services such as gas, oil and transport could enable terrorists to seriously damage these important economic targets. For instance, other countries are seeking technical details of weapons systems so that they can find ways of neutralising our military advantages.
If this information is obtained by those with no right to access it, serious damage can be caused.
Its sensitivity makes it necessary for us to protect it but also makes it attractive to spies. Classified information is kept secret in the first place because its disclosure might harm national security, jeopardise the country's economic well-being or damage international relations. In fact, it often helps us to build good relationships with other nations.Įspionage focuses on gathering non-public information through covert means. 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 attachés and trade delegations. lt 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. Espionage against UK interests still continues and is potentially very damaging. The threat of espionage (spying) did not end with the collapse of Soviet communism in the early 1990s.
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