spy networks
Intelligence gathering rings
Spy networks are organized systems of intelligence agents and informants working together to gather secret information, typically for a government.
The network structure allows operatives to share intelligence while limiting exposure—if one agent is caught, they can't compromise the entire operation.
The CIA dismantled several spy networks during the Cold War.
The term extends to any coordinated surveillance apparatus: corporate spy networks, a spy network of neighborhood informants.
- double agentsSpies betraying their employers
- counterintelligenceDefense against enemy espionage
- handlersThose who manage or control
- molesBurrowing insectivore mammals
- spiesSecret intelligence gatherers
surveillance · clandestine operations · cryptography · tradecraft · sleeper cells · informants · MI6 · operative · intelligence gathering · burned · blown cover · dead drops · drop point · wiretapping · infiltration · cover story · CIA operations · legend
- espionagespy, spies, double agent, double agents, spying
- resistanceresistance, defiance, resistance fighters, civil resistance, resist
- East GermanyStasi, GDR, DDR, Berlin Wall, East Germany
- Patriotspatriot, Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, founding father
- intelligencesmart, IQ, memory, bright, clever
- Hidden Systemsunderground pipes, sewers, plumbing, wiring, roots