Espionage is a crime. Types of espionage. State, economic and military espionage

Every citizen of his state is obliged to respect the laws of his country and not to violate them. However, this is not always the case. Criminals can neglect to treat those norms, which are established by society, to betray the interests of their country. For example, they can carry out espionage - a kind of crime that significantly harms the state. Naturally, it is necessary to consider this issue more carefully.

The concept of the crime

So, first you need to understand the term itself. Espionage is a crime that involves the unlawful collection and transfer of any information of state importance to a third party. At the same time, the client is most often a foreigner who has reached the age of 16.

It should be borne in mind that the information submitted may or may not constitute a state secret , but be very interesting for the other side.

Espionage is a crime that provides for different ways of communicating information. This can be personal contact, electronic means of communication, an intermediary or other secret methods of communication.

Naturally, a spy should be as cautious as possible in its activities. For work he receives a certain reward. However, if the criminal falls into the hands of law enforcement agencies, he will certainly pay for his freedom.

The subjective and objective side of the misconduct

Espionage is a crime that has certain components that characterize any violation of the law. For example, the objective side of the crime can be classified as kidnapping or collection of information, its storage and transfer. As for the subjective side, it has one important feature - direct intent. That is, the intruder is well aware of what he is doing, understands what consequences and damage can be. However, this does not matter to him, and the criminal will still commit his deeds.

The subject of the alleged violation of the law is precisely that person who seeks to obtain the necessary information, that is, the same spy who is subject to criminal punishment. As for the object, they are just the information necessary for the criminal.

Features of espionage as a crime

So, now we need to deal with some nuances of this kind of violation of the law. State espionage is a particularly serious crime, which provides for a great deal of punishment. At the same time, the motives or goals of the offender are not taken into account at all. In any case, its actions lead to serious consequences for the state.

Espionage (the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation calls it completed already at the time of transfer or abduction of information) can be prevented by the criminal himself. To do this, it is sufficient to destroy the conditions under which information will fall into the hands of the interested person.

Types of espionage

Now let's proceed to the classification of the alleged violation of the law. There are such types of espionage:

- Economic. It provides for the transfer of information about the financial plans of the country, as well as on economic-design, development work, which may have value for other countries.

- Political. In this case, information may be collected about some figures in the sphere represented. And they can be kidnapped not only by their work plans, but also by the personal life of people. The information obtained in this way is considered a compromising material that can force the politician to change his decisions in accordance with the requirements of the enemy.

- The military. It provides for the collection of information on the strategic and operational plans of the country, the directions of the development of technology, technological and production development of weapons.

Economic espionage: features

Information to date is a very expensive product. Therefore, the kidnapping of such information can become a real threat to business, both large and small. Due to illegal actions, competitors can assign your funds, lure customers and destroy your work.

In order to obtain information, an attacker can monitor the press, computer systems of a firm, corporate sites, patent applications, databases. At the same time, the offender can be informed both legally and illegally. In any case, a person receives a certain amount of foreign information that can be used against its owner.

Features of the agent

So, economic espionage is a special kind of atrocity that is aimed at weakening the positions of a particular firm or state in general on the international market. Naturally, in order to get information, you need to use agents. They can be almost any person who pursues mercantile goals. Although you can become a spy for coercion.

The agent usually becomes either an employee dissatisfied with his position in the company, or a specially prepared person. At the same time, in some countries there are even training centers for spies.

The most optimal option is a prepared insider who knows in advance what he wants. Representatives of business structures or students often become agents. The main thing is that they have legal and free access to those premises where the necessary information can be contained.

Today, anywhere in the world there are computer systems. Almost all information is now translated into an electronic version. It is much easier to save such information, despite all modern means of protection. That is, the presence of agents is not always a prerequisite for obtaining information.

Criminal liability for a crime

Like any other crime, military espionage should not go unnoticed. For this crime, of course, provides for criminal punishment. Since the atrocity is considered particularly serious, then the responsibility for it is not small. For example, for this crime, a real prison sentence of 12 to 20 years is envisaged. In addition, the spy will have to pay a substantial fine (not less than 500,000 rubles).

However, there are cases when punishment may not occur. For example, criminal liability can be avoided if a spy has timely and independently notified law enforcement agencies. In addition, a person can destroy the conditions under which the transmission of information is possible.

Also, criminal liability can be avoided if the agent contributed to the prevention of further damage.

As you can see, espionage activity is a very serious crime. However, you need to consider that you can recruit anyone who is relevant to important information. Therefore, you should somehow protect yourself from this situation. Good luck!