Move Over, M.B.A.s

A GROWING NUMBER OF SPIES IN THE U.S. ARE SPECIALIZING IN stealing business information. Operatives from Russia, China, Vietnam and Cuba have been joined by agents from Japan, Western Europe, the Arab nations and several other countries. The FBI also reports that onetime KGB operatives are going into joint ventures with Western companies. It is not clear in many cases whether they are seeking cover to steal classified information or simply trying to learn the tricks of the commercial trade. Says Wayne Gilbert, chief of FBI counterintelligence: “They’re used to dealing in the international community, so they make very desirable employees.”