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With rise of big data, never say never again

Kim Philby is considered to be one of the greatest spies in the last century.

Vishal Bhargava (The Jakarta Post)

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Mumbai, India

Mon, October 22, 2018 Published on Oct. 22, 2018 Published on 2018-10-22T09:27:57+07:00

big data illustration (Shutterstock/-)

K

im Philby is considered to be one of the greatest spies in the last century. From working for the MI-6 to becoming the liaison officer between the British and United States’ intelligence services — when he was really a double-agent for the Soviet, displayed a remarkable skill even by the lofty standards of Cold War espionage.

His leak to the USSR about the British plan to send armed anti-communist bands into Albania in 1950 ensured the Soviets were ready to crush it. The very fact that he leaked sensitive information for almost two decades undetected reflects Philby’s greatness in the field. Even Joseph Stalin was cautious about him fearing that he may be a triple agent providing Soviet intelligence to the British.

Spy games have been waged since the beginning of time. Until a few decades ago it revolved primarily around human intelligence with key players being killed or kidnapped. Then came the electronic battles with the countries using computer worms to infect key assets like the US did with Iran’s nuclear program.

The most rampant one lately has been the case of China looking to steal US technology in sectors like defense or aerospace. At the corporate level theft has existed for long as well — a popular example laid out by Richard Branson in his book Dirty Tricks wherein he highlights the games played by British Airways to damage the then emerging Virgin airline.