Les Operations de Contre-Espionnage: Comment Faire du Neuf Avec du Vieux

For generations, the expression “making something new out of old” was used to comment on hairstyles, art, music and other everyday objects. The saying conveys two ideas: 1) it is very unlikely that a person will invent something unique; and 2) if a new object or phenomenon is observed, it is very likely that it has existed before, albeit in a different form. Fashion products are the emblematic illustration of this proverb, the use of the term “retro” being used to describe many new creations.
If we analyze covert operations, we observe the development of new and unprecedented technologies. These changes have certainly modified the environment in which counterespionage operates. “Big data”, mass surveillance of electronic communications (via the internet) and biometrics are three notable developments that were not available to counter-espionage practitioners in the past. These methods were at most the fruit of the imagination of fiction authors such as George Orwell in his dystopian novel 1984. These developments raise a question: could this adage also apply to covert operations? This article intends to start from the postulate that the formula remains entirely appropriate.