Espionage
Espionage involves searches for or sharing of confidential information that is not accessible to the public. It may also involve establishing secret contacts to gather confidential information. Malicious groups or individuals, such as states or organisations, use various means to do this, such as spies, cyber attacks or special devices.
The aim of espionage is often to gather commercial, technological or military knowledge. With this information, they seek to gain an advantage over their competitors.
Risks and causes
Causes
What can you do?
Before
Get informed. This will allow you to recognise any malicious actions and report them to the authorities. You can visit the following websites in this regard:
- State Security (VSSE), for example the brochure (French/Dutch only) "Espionage: are you implicated?"
- The General Intelligence and Security Service (GISS)
- Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA)
- FPS Foreign Affairs
- Federal police
- Defence
- Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium, for example the Safeonweb.be website.
During
- Protect yourself when travelling abroad. Consult the advice of State Security and the FPS Foreign Affairs.
- Protect your computer and personal data. Check the advice on the pages dedicated to cyber attacks.
After
No specific recommendations.
Impact and probability
The figures relating to probability and impact describe espionage of extreme magnitude. The BNRA theoretically describes such a scenario as follows:
- Sensitive information is obtained that could harm Belgium's military, diplomatic or economic interests.
- The actor has considerable technological, financial and human resources at its disposal, enabling it to carry out espionage operations undetected.
How should you interpret these results?
Within the BNRA, experts assessed three scenarios for each risk: considerable, major or extreme. On each page, you will find the results of the scenario with the highest score based on the combination of likelihood and impact. This does not mean that this scenario will occur or is the most likely. Read more here about how to correctly interpret the results.
Probability
Weak
Human impact
Weak
Societal impact
Moderate
Environmental impact
Very weak
Financial impact
Moderate
What do the authorities do?
In Belgium, State Security (VSSE) is responsible for detecting espionage. State Security collects information through intelligence. State Security also raises awareness of the risks of espionage among authorities, administrations, companies and scientific institutions.