Sleeper agent: Difference between revisions
imported>AnomieBOT m Dating maintenance tags: {{Says who}} {{Refimprove section}} {{Use mdy dates}} {{Cn}} {{Dubious discuss}} {{Better source}} |
imported>Noises From Afar m →Description: Removing random seeming arrow |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
{{refimprove|date=December 2020}} | {{refimprove|date=December 2020}} | ||
{{Intelligence}} | {{Intelligence}} | ||
A '''sleeper agent''' is a [[Espionage|spy]] or operative who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but instead to act as a potential asset on short notice if activated in the future.{{citation needed lead|date=November 2020}} Even if not activated, the "sleeper agent" is still an asset and can still play an active role in [[sabotage]], [[sedition]], [[espionage]], or possibly [[treason]](if enlisted to act against their own country), by virtue of agreeing to act if activated.{{citation needed lead|date=November 2020}} A team of sleeper agents may be referred to as a '''sleeper cell''', possibly working with others in a [[clandestine cell system]].{{citation needed lead|date=November 2020}} | A '''sleeper agent''' is a [[Espionage|spy]] or operative who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but instead to act as a potential asset on short notice if activated in the future.{{citation needed lead|date=November 2020}} Even if not activated, the "sleeper agent" is still an asset and can still play an active role in [[sabotage]], [[sedition]], [[espionage]], or possibly [[treason]] (if enlisted to act against their own country), by virtue of agreeing to act if activated.{{citation needed lead|date=November 2020}} A team of sleeper agents may be referred to as a '''sleeper cell''', possibly working with others in a [[clandestine cell system]].{{citation needed lead|date=November 2020}} | ||
==Description== | ==Description== | ||
In espionage, a sleeper agent is one that has infiltrated a target country and “gone to sleep”, sometimes for many years, making no attempt to communicate with the sponsor or their agents—or to obtain information beyond what is publicly available—then becoming active upon receiving a pre-arranged signal from the sponsor or a fellow agent.<ref name="DIA2011">{{cite web |title=Terms & Definitions of Interest for DoD CI Professionals |url=https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/ci/CI_Glossary.pdf |publisher=Defense Intelligence Agency |date=2 May 2011 |page=GL-157 |access-date=23 June 2025}}</ref><ref name="FBI2011">{{cite web |title=Operation Ghost Stories: Inside the Russian Spy Case |url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/operation-ghost-stories-inside-the-russian-spy-case |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |date=31 October 2011 |access-date=23 June 2025}}</ref> | |||
In espionage, a sleeper agent is one that has infiltrated a target country and | |||
The agent acquires jobs and identities, ideally ones that will prove useful in the future, and attempts to blend into everyday life as a normal citizen. Counterespionage agencies in the target country cannot, in practice, closely watch all those who may possibly have been recruited some time before. | The agent acquires jobs and identities, ideally ones that will prove useful in the future, and attempts to blend into everyday life as a normal citizen. Counterespionage agencies in the target country cannot, in practice, closely watch all those who may possibly have been recruited some time before. | ||
| Line 16: | Line 15: | ||
Sleeper agents who have been discovered have often been natives of the target country who moved elsewhere in early life and were co-opted (perhaps for ideological or ethnic reasons) before returning to the target country. That is valuable to the sponsor, as the sleeper's language and other skills can be those of a native, thus less likely to trigger domestic suspicion. | Sleeper agents who have been discovered have often been natives of the target country who moved elsewhere in early life and were co-opted (perhaps for ideological or ethnic reasons) before returning to the target country. That is valuable to the sponsor, as the sleeper's language and other skills can be those of a native, thus less likely to trigger domestic suspicion. | ||
Choosing and inserting sleeper agents has often been difficult, as whether the target will be appropriate some years in the future is uncertain. If the sponsor government and its policies change after the sleeper has been inserted, the sleeper may be found to have been planted in the wrong target. | Choosing and inserting sleeper agents has often been difficult, as whether the target will be appropriate some years in the future is uncertain. If the sponsor government and its policies change after the sleeper has been inserted, the sleeper may be found to have been planted in the wrong target. | ||
==Documented examples== | ==Documented examples== | ||
| Line 67: | Line 66: | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
<!--- | <!--- Please keep the list in alphabetical order ---> | ||
* [[Double agent]] | * [[Double agent]] | ||
* [[Mole (espionage)]] | * [[Mole (espionage)]] | ||
Latest revision as of 19:20, 29 June 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "about". Template:Refimprove Template:Intelligence A sleeper agent is a spy or operative who is placed in a target country or organization, not to undertake an immediate mission, but instead to act as a potential asset on short notice if activated in the future.Template:Citation needed lead Even if not activated, the "sleeper agent" is still an asset and can still play an active role in sabotage, sedition, espionage, or possibly treason (if enlisted to act against their own country), by virtue of agreeing to act if activated.Template:Citation needed lead A team of sleeper agents may be referred to as a sleeper cell, possibly working with others in a clandestine cell system.Template:Citation needed lead
Description
In espionage, a sleeper agent is one that has infiltrated a target country and “gone to sleep”, sometimes for many years, making no attempt to communicate with the sponsor or their agents—or to obtain information beyond what is publicly available—then becoming active upon receiving a pre-arranged signal from the sponsor or a fellow agent.[1][2]
The agent acquires jobs and identities, ideally ones that will prove useful in the future, and attempts to blend into everyday life as a normal citizen. Counterespionage agencies in the target country cannot, in practice, closely watch all those who may possibly have been recruited some time before.
In a sense, the best sleeper agents are those who do not need to be paid by the sponsor, as they are able to earn enough money to finance themselves, averting any possibly traceable payments from abroad. In such cases, the sleeper agent may be successful enough to become what is sometimes termed an "agent of influence".
Sleeper agents who have been discovered have often been natives of the target country who moved elsewhere in early life and were co-opted (perhaps for ideological or ethnic reasons) before returning to the target country. That is valuable to the sponsor, as the sleeper's language and other skills can be those of a native, thus less likely to trigger domestic suspicion.
Choosing and inserting sleeper agents has often been difficult, as whether the target will be appropriate some years in the future is uncertain. If the sponsor government and its policies change after the sleeper has been inserted, the sleeper may be found to have been planted in the wrong target.
Documented examples
Real world
- Jack Barsky was planted as a sleeper agent in the United States by the Soviet KGB. He was an active sleeper agent between 1978 and 1988. He was located by US authorities in 1994 and then arrested in 1997. Barsky quickly confessed after being arrested and became a useful source of information about spy techniques.[3]
Fictional
Template:Refimprove section Sleeper agents are popular plot devices in fiction, particularly in espionage fiction and science fiction.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". This common use is directly related to and results from repeated instances of real-life "sleeper agents" participating in spying, espionage, sedition, treason, and assassinations.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Moreover, in fictional portrayals, sleeper agents are sometimes unaware that they are sleepers—they might be brainwashed, hypnotized, or otherwise conditioned to be unaware of their secret mission until activated.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Books and films
- Gustaf Skördeman's 2020 book Geiger shows a sleeper agent being activated in Sweden during the Cold War.[4]Template:Better source
References
See also
Template:Espionage Template:Intelligence cycle management fr:Agent dormant
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Better source