Spies: The Undercover World of Secrets, Gadgets and Lies - Softcover

David Owen writes extensively on military deception, electronic intelligence, and computer crime. He is the author of Hidden Evidence and Final Frontier.

Antonio J. Mendez is a retired CIA agent and author. He is a consultant to the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. and was recognized as one of the CIA's top agents.

Introduction

Secret codes... hidden cameras and recorders... stolen microfilm exploding pens... a lone agent veiled in shadows. These images come to mind when we think about espionage -- acts designed to steal the ideas, plans or capabilities of an enemy or possible enemy. Since ancient times, soldiers have wondered: What lies over the hill? Where are the enemy's strongholds? Are they hiding men or matériel? Do they have any weakness that could be used to defeat them? Exposing these secrets can change the outcome of a battle or shorten a war campaign and save lives.

Spies are also vital in times of political tension rather than war. Knowing an adversary's true bargaining position can give one side a huge advantage when signing treaties or settling claims over disputed territory. At times, military leaders have decided to launch attacks after finding out secrets that showed the enemy was weak. Espionage can help make the world safer. During the Cold War, a show of power was important. Both East and West had to know each nation could destroy the other. That way, neither would want to press the nuclear button.

Yet, when it comes to gathering human intelligence, who is the real spymaster? Is the agent who returns from enemy country really telling you what you need to know -- or what your adversary wants you to think? Even when people rely on electronic intelligence rather than personal accounts, their opponents can give them false information. The double-edged nature of espionage makes this high-stakes activity even more fascinating. The use of double, triple or even multiple agents can create confusion and keep people guessing. If an agent might be working for the other side, why not trick his or her 'employer'? Instead of catching the agent and cutting off that line of communication, you can feed a double agent false information and give the enemy a false sense of security. In reality, the spy takes them information that you want them to believe and brings back planted information that can show what secrets the enemy wants to hide. Without realizing it, the double agent has become a triple agent. The true value of the information has switched to the other side.

Clearly, spying involves more than simply seeking and then passing on information. And the human cost can be terribly high. A spy can be exposed at any time. Capture could mean a long prison sentence or even execution. To avoid detection, spies must trust no one and must learn to live completely 'undercover.' They give up the normal rewards of career, family life and friendships, except under carefully controlled circumstances. Even after they retire, agents may continue to make compromises. Usually the host country is not their homeland, since agents tend to spy in their native societies, where they can blend in undetected. The country for which they operate is often an alien society, where the customs and language are different. This makes it hard for them to return to a normal civilian life.

Although technology now reveals many secrets, individual agents still play a vital role. Humans can provide data that mechanical systems would not pick up. These include the goals of a nation's leaders in a particular campaign or crisis, the existence of dissident groups or individuals who could be recruited as agents, and shifts in public attitudes that may be important in tense political times. Nevertheless, traditional spies operate in a vastly more complex world than the spies of earlier times. Intelligence information is assembled from many sources, including signal intelligence (obtained from the interception and decrypting of messages, and the analysis of traffic), electronic intelligence (involving remote sensors and traffic surveillance) and image intelligence (including video intelligence and airborne information gathering).

This book covers various aspects of intelligence and information gathering, including the methods countries and their counterintelligence organizations use to guard their secrets. Today's world features a greater number of less powerful potential adversaries, so agents may go back to some of the espionage traditions of the past. The world of twenty-first century espionage is challenging and so far largely unpredictable. Yet, revealing the hidden secrets of tomorrow will certainly continue to engage the brightest and the bravest, as agents match wits with those who doggedly guard those secrets. The future of this ancient profession promises to be just as busy and colorful as the past.