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Spies
By Maggie

Spying (also called espionage) is the act of stealing secrets from your enemies or rivals. A spy is the person hired to learn the secrets.  Did you know there are different kinds of spies?  Spies steal secrets for military, political or financial reasons. 

When spying for military or political reasons, spies collect information from the "enemy" or someone on the other side of a fight or war. During wars, spies are often used to find out information about the enemy and pass it on to the other side. Usually, if you are a spy, it is kept a secret.

If you are an adult who is caught spying, you can be found guilty of treason (the crime of being disloyal to your nation). In some countries espionage is a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment. For example, in the USA someone caught spying could receive the death penalty.  However, it isn't used very often since governments will bargain away a death penalty sentence in exchange for information.

But when you are a spy, you need to communicate with other spies, right? Well, you're not going to send a letter or talk on the phone normally. Someone could hear what you are saying or see what you are doing. This wouldn't be good because the information needs to stay top secret. That is why spies use many tricks to keep their messages and information secret. 

One of the ways spies communicate is by using codes. Codes are a way of getting your information where you need it so that even if someone else finds it, they can't figure out what it means. Spies can use Morse code, American Sign Language, hand signals, and even Braille to make sure their messages stay secret.

One way to make writing secret is to use a cipher. Ciphers are like codes but  they have a key to figure out the secret code. You can't figure out the cipher without the key code. There are lots of different kinds of ciphers. Some are the substitute cipher, the grid cipher, and the pigpen cipher.
 

Citations

Books

Hill, Laban Carrick. Spy's Survival Handbook. New York, New York: Tangerine Press, 2003.

Platt, Richard. Eyewitness Books Spy. New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1996.

Images

Copyrighted images of man with magnifying glass, kids telling secrets, and man hiding, from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us&cag=1>
February 2005. Clip art only available to licensed users for non-commercial purposes.