espionage
n. uncountablen. the secret work of spying to find out information about another country or a competing company. It usually involves people working undercover to steal secrets.
n. the practice of spying or using spies, typically by governments to obtain political or military information. Often involves the systematic use of clandestine methods to gain a competitive advantage.
He was arrested and charged with industrial espionage.
The government increased its cybersecurity budget to protect national secrets from foreign espionage and digital hacking attempts.
While traditional espionage relied on human intelligence and physical infiltration, modern statecraft increasingly prioritizes signals intelligence and the exploitation of encrypted communication networks.
Recorded since 1793, from French espionnage, from espionner (“to spy”), from Middle French espionner (“to spy”), from espion (“spy”), from Old French espion (“spy”), from Frankish spehō (“spy”), from Frankish spehōn (“to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to spy, peek, peer”). In modern times, the French pronunciation of the s, which had fallen silent since the 13th century, was restored due to the influence of Italian spione (“spy”), and was therefore also adopted by the English. More at spy.
Uncountable; frequently modified by adjectives like 'industrial', 'corporate', or 'international'.