The Expanding Spectrum of Espionage by Americans, 1947 – 2015
Technical Report 17-10 August 2017
The Expanding Spectrum of Espionage by Americans, 1947 – 2015
Katherine L. Herbig, Ph.D.—Northrop Grumman Technology Services
Released by—Eric L. Lang, Ph.D.
PREFACE
The Defense Personnel and Security Research Center (PERSEREC) dates from 1986. It was founded because of the espionage of John Walker and his ring of spies. Part of a record year for spies in 1985 in which 11 Americans were arrested for espionage, Walker’s capture provoked outrage, as did the revelation that for 20 years he had betrayed the trust the U.S. Navy placed in him as a cryptographic radioman. A commission to investigate security practices then formed under General Richard G. Stilwell. Among its recommendations for improvement was the creation of an organization to perform behavioral science research on personnel security policies and practices, and so in 1986, the Department of Defense (DoD) established PERSEREC. For 30 years, PERSEREC has worked to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness of DoD’s personnel and industrial security systems. One consistent research focus has been the phenomenon of trust betrayal in crimes such as espionage. This report is the fourth in a series of unclassified reports based on information collected in the PERSEREC Espionage Database. Materials on espionage and espionage-related offenses, including attempted espionage, conspiracy to commit espionage, theft, and illegal collection of closely-held national defense information with the intent to commit espionage, have been coded into the database. A founding goal of PERSEREC is to improve security education and awareness, and so these reports are based on open sources in order to facilitate public access and broad distribution.
Eric L. Lang, Ph.D.
Director
