government misconduct to the public and media, in spite of the criminal consequences that await them. Espionage, or spying, involves obtaining sensitive information without the permission or knowledge of its holder. The use of spies is a part of national intelligence gathering in most countries, and has been used as a political strategy by nation-states since ancient times. It is unspoken knowledge in international politics that countries are spying on one another all the time, even their allies. Digital sensitive information Computer security is information security applied to computing and network technology, and is a significant and ever-growing field in computer science. The term computer insecurity, on the other hand, is the concept that computer systems are inherently vulnerable to attack, and therefore an evolving arms race between those who exploit existing vulnerabilities in security systems and those who must then engineer new mechanisms of security. A number of security concerns have arisen in the recent years as increasing amounts of sensitive information at every level have found their primary existence in digital form. At the personal level, credit card fraud, internet fraud, and other forms of identity theft have become widespread concerns that individuals need to be aware of on a day-to-day basis. The existence of large databases of classified information on computer networks is also changing the face of domestic and international politics. Cyber-warfare and cyber espionage is becoming of increasing importance to the national security and strategy of nations around the world, and it is estimated that 120 nations around the world are currently actively engaged in developing and deploying technology for these purposes. Philosophies and internet cultures such as open-source governance, hacktivism, and the popular hacktivist slogan "information wants to be free" reflects some of the cultural shifts in perception towards political and government secrecy. The popular, controversial WikiLeaks is just one of many manifestations of a growing cultural sentiment that is becoming an additional challenge to the security and integrity of classified information. See also Espionage Federal Standard 1037C and the National Information Systems Security Glossary Mandatory Access Control Privacy protocol Information privacy law References Information Data security Security National security