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Espionage
18 U.S.C. §§ 794 & 1831

Espionage is the practice of using spies to collect information on what a government or company is doing or is planning to do. Like disclosure of classified information, espionage involves a defendant who obtains or discloses information that he is not authorized to obtain or disclose.

While there are a number of activities that involve espionage, the two most common are gathering or delivering defense information to aid a foreign government, and economic espionage

18 U.S.C. § 794
To convict an individual for gathering or delivering defense information to aid a foreign government, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that

• the defendant transmitted information to a foreign government;
• the information related to the national defense; and
• the defendant intended or had reason to believe that the information would be used
  • to the injury of the United States, or
  • to the advantage of a foreign nation.

The punishment for a violation of section 794 is death, or imprisonment for any term of years of for life.

18 U.S.C. § 1831
To convict an individual for economic espionage, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that

• the defendant intends to benefit a foreign government; and
• the defendant
  • steals, or without authorization appropriates, takes, carries away, or conceals, or by fraud, artifice, or deception obtains a trade secret;
  • without authorization copies, duplicates, sketches, draws, photographs, downloads, uploads, alters, destroys, photocopies, replicates, transmits, delivers, sends, mails, communicates, or conveys a trade secret; or
  • receives, buys, or possesses a trade secret, knowing the same to have been stolen or appropriated, obtained, or converted without authorization.

The punishment for a violation of section 1831 is a fine of up to $500,000 ($10,000,000 if the offense is committed by an organization), imprisonment for up to 15 years, or both.