“Who owns the information, owns the world.” Nathan Rothschild, the founder of the English branch of the Rothschilds, liked to repeat this phrase. Once, thanks to the fact that in 1815 he learned a day earlier than others that Napoleon had lost the Battle of Waterloo, he managed to carry out speculation on the London Stock Exchange. And earn £40 million. Economic espionage as a sphere of covert activity for the collection, analysis, storage and use of particularly valuable confidential information covers all areas of the market economy. Since ancient times, this type of activity has been not only a favorite weapon in the competition of big business, but also a tool for obtaining super-profits and control over the world.