Espionage didn’t start with the Cold War… the Romans were at it, as were the Elizabethans, and it was rampant in feudal Japan too. The only difference is that they did it without all the technical gadgetry – the things that make spying fun… perhaps with the exception of the Japanese, since ninjas have always had a soft-spot for technology.

Of course, these days most of the technology from the Cold War and onwards is in civilian hands. GPS, phone taps, data dots… you can buy all this stuff on ebay. Then again, with social networking, and the Internet in general, it’s a little easier to find out things about people anyway.

I think it’s because, deep down, we all want to be spies.