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espionageEspionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, as the legitimate holder of the information may change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
parlance, a
cutout is a mutually trusted intermediary, method or channel of communication, facilitating the exchange of information between agents. By definition, a "cutout" does not know the source or destination the information being trasmitted, or the identities of any persons involved in the espionage process. Thus, a captured cutout will cannot be used to identify members of an espionage cell.
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In
espionageEspionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, as the legitimate holder of the information may change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
parlance, a
cutout is a mutually trusted intermediary, method or channel of communication, facilitating the exchange of information between agents. By definition, a "cutout" does not know the source or destination the information being trasmitted, or the identities of any persons involved in the espionage process. Thus, a captured cutout will cannot be used to identify members of an espionage cell. A classic example of a 'cut out' which fulfills all the required characteristics is the
dead dropA dead drop or dead letter box, is a location used to secretly pass items between two people, without requiring them to meet. This stands in contrast to the live drop, so called because two live persons meet to exchange items or information....
"postbox".