You’ve seen the movies. James Bond crashes a DB5 into a fountain, or Ethan Hunt swings from a skyscraper in Dubai. It’s all very loud. It’s all very visible. Because of that, a weirdly large number of people have started to believe that there are no spies in the real world anymore—at least not the kind that actually do anything. They think it’s all satellites and SIGINT now. Basically, if a computer can hack a phone, why send a human?
It's a seductive idea. It makes the world feel cleaner.
But honestly? That's just not how the world works. While we sit in Starbucks scrolling through TikTok, there is a massive, invisible infrastructure of human intelligence (HUMINT) operating right under our noses. The idea that "there are no spies" is actually one of the most successful narratives ever pushed by intelligence agencies. If you don't think they exist, you aren't looking for them.
The Myth of the All-Seeing Satellite
We have this obsession with technology. We think because the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) can read a license plate from space, we don't need a guy in a trench coat. Or a woman in a business suit. Or a student at a protest.
But satellites have a major flaw: they can't see inside a human brain.
A satellite can tell you that a North Korean missile is being moved to a launch pad. It can’t tell you why the General ordered the move, or if he’s planning a coup, or if he’s just trying to scare the South into a grain deal. To get that, you need a person. You need a source. You need someone who is willing to betray their country for money, ego, or ideology.
Real intelligence isn't just about pictures. It’s about intent.
Why You Think There Are No Spies
Most of the time, when a spy is doing their job perfectly, nothing happens. No explosions. No car chases. Just a boring Tuesday where a mid-level bureaucrat leaves a USB drive in a hollowed-out rock in a park.
Because the failures are the only things that make the news, we get a skewed perspective. We saw the Anna Chapman "Sleeper Cell" bust in 2010. We saw the Skripal poisoning in Salisbury. These feel like relics of the Cold War, leading people to conclude that the profession is dying out.
Actually, the opposite is true.
The FBI’s counterintelligence division is currently busier than it was during the height of the 1980s. Christopher Wray, the FBI Director, has stated repeatedly that the bureau opens a new China-related counterintelligence case every 12 hours. That isn't just hackers. That’s people. It’s researchers at universities, it’s engineers at aerospace firms, and it’s "non-traditional collectors" who don't look anything like Daniel Craig.
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The New Face of the Asset
If you’re looking for a guy with a silencer, you’re looking for the wrong thing.
Modern "spying" is often remarkably mundane. It’s "industrial espionage." Think about the case of Xiaorong You, a chemist who was sentenced to prison for stealing trade secrets related to "BPA-free" coatings for the inside of beverage cans. She wasn't jumping out of airplanes. She was an employee at Coca-Cola and Eastman Chemical.
She was a spy.
It doesn't sound sexy. Stealing the formula for a soda can liner doesn't feel like Mission Impossible. But that intellectual property was worth an estimated $120 million. When people say there are no spies, they are usually ignoring the massive economic war happening in the corporate world.
The "Invisible" Problem in the Digital Age
Social media has actually made spying easier, not harder.
In the old days, if the CIA wanted to recruit a Soviet official, they had to physically follow them, find their weaknesses, and figure out how to approach them. It took months. Now? They just look at LinkedIn.
Intelligence officers use "social engineering" to find targets. They see who is disgruntled at their job. They see who has debt. They see who is traveling to "neutral" cities like Vienna or Geneva. Then, they send a message. It starts as a "consulting opportunity." It ends with a prison sentence.
The digital footprint we all leave behind is a map for recruiters.
Living Under a "Legend"
One of the most fascinating aspects of this world is the "Illegal." These are intelligence officers who live in a foreign country under a completely false identity with no connection to their home government. They don't have "Diplomatic Immunity." If they get caught, they go to a real prison.
The "Illegals Program" run by Russia’s SVR is the most famous example. In 2010, the US arrested ten of them. They were living as ordinary couples in suburbs in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Virginia. They had kids. They went to PTA meetings. Their neighbors thought they were just boring people.
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That’s the point.
When you say there are no spies, you might be living next to one. They aren't there to steal nuclear codes every day. Sometimes, they are just there to "build a life" so that ten years from now, when they are in a position of influence, they can start the real work.
The High Cost of the "No Spies" Delusion
Believing that human intelligence is dead is dangerous for national security. It leads to a "technological hubris" where we assume we can solve every problem with an algorithm.
Look at the 2021 fall of Kabul.
The US had all the tech in the world. We had drones. We had signals intercepts. But we lacked the human "ground truth" to realize how quickly the Afghan government would collapse. We didn't have enough people in the rooms where the decisions were being made. We had data, but we didn't have understanding.
Human intelligence is the only thing that provides context.
How to Spot the Reality
If you want to see the proof that spies are everywhere, stop looking at the news and start looking at "Expulsions."
Whenever a country gets mad at another country, they expel "diplomats." In 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine, European countries expelled over 400 Russian diplomats in just a few weeks. Do you think those countries just suddenly decided they didn't need 400 people to process visas?
Of course not.
Most of those "diplomats" were declared persona non grata because they were identified as undeclared intelligence officers. They were spies working under "official cover" out of embassies. This happens every single day in every major capital city in the world.
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London. DC. Beijing. Moscow. Berlin.
The "diplomatic corps" is often just a polite way of saying "the legal spy club."
What Most People Get Wrong About the CIA
People think the CIA is an army. It isn't.
Most CIA officers are "Case Officers." Their job isn't to do the spying themselves; it's to find other people to do the spying for them. They are talent scouts for traitors. They spend their time at cocktail parties, tech conferences, and embassies looking for a person who has access to information and a reason to give it up.
It’s a psychological game. It’s about manipulation, friendship, and exploitation.
There are no spies? Tell that to the people in the "Clandestine Service" who spend their entire lives pretending to be someone they aren't, often losing their own sense of identity in the process. It’s a lonely, high-stakes job that offers zero public recognition.
The Actionable Reality of Modern Intelligence
Since we’ve established that the world is actually crawling with intelligence activity, what does that mean for you? Unless you’re a high-level defense contractor or a nuclear physicist, you probably don't have to worry about the GRU tapping your phone.
But the "Spy Mindset" is actually incredibly useful for normal life.
Intelligence officers are trained in "Situational Awareness." They don't walk around staring at their phones. They know where the exits are. They notice when the same car has been behind them for three turns. They understand how to read people’s body language to see if they are lying or uncomfortable.
Next Steps for Staying Secure and Aware:
- Audit Your Digital Breadcrumbs: If a recruiter wanted to find your "hook" (money, ideology, coercion, or ego), what would they find on your public profiles? Tighten your privacy settings on LinkedIn and Facebook.
- Practice Active Observation: Next time you are in a public space, try to identify three things that seem "out of place." It’s a classic exercise for developing an eye for detail.
- Verify the Source: In the age of disinformation, "spying" often takes the form of spreading fake news. Always ask: Who benefits from me believing this?
- Understand "Social Engineering": Be wary of unsolicited "business opportunities" or "surveys" that ask for specific details about your workplace or projects.
The world isn't a movie, but it definitely isn't empty. Just because you don't see the spies doesn't mean they aren't there. In fact, if you don't see them, they're probably just really good at their jobs. Stop looking for the tuxedos and start looking for the people who blend in perfectly.
That’s where the real story is.