Eyes on spies around the world

Espionage — the act of gaining confidential information, if possible in secret, about people, nations or their armies — has long been with us. The practice ranges from spying for military purposes to trying to find out what a rival company is doing, or even just monitoring consumer behavior to boost sales.

Spying can be done in a number of ways, the classic method being to infiltrate the ranks of the targeted organization. But the advent of electronics and the digital sphere has meant that espionage operations are more sophisticated.

Here is a selection of DW content about surveillance around the world.