Spying involving corporations is known as industrial espionage. However, the term is generally associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies primarily for military purposes. It is crucial to distinguish espionage from intelligence gathering, as the latter does not necessarily involve espionage, but often collates open-source information.Įspionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. It is a subset of intelligence gathering, which otherwise may be conducted from public sources and using perfectly legal and ethical means. Espionage is inherently clandestine, as it is taken for granted that it is unwelcome and, in many cases illegal and punishable by law. For other uses, see Espionage (disambiguation).Įspionage or spying involves a government or individual obtaining information considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information.