Controversial figure, Edward Snowden[/caption]Gordon Matilla---Richard Martin, a consultant, businessman and executive coach tells us that one of the best ways to gain an advantage is through infiltration of one’s enemy camp, competitor or organization in order to gain advantage or obtain information. What are the pros and cons of doing this?
The infantry uses infiltration as a way of scouting out enemy positions before a battle or to conduct short raids. It can also little by little create deadly consequences in both psychological and material ways by causing a consistent, little by little, number of casualties. This undermines the morale of the enemy. This pattern of conducting war went on during both World Wars as well as in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
Competition among companies can also elicit infiltration, so that one company learns another’s secrets. Certain products become known and find their way into other companies through folks finding their way in and making these known to competitors. That competition will create a situation where one day a company finds out it is surrounded by competitors offering the same or better products and services, which is what has happened to Blackberry, Microsoft, and others.
Edward Snowden took a job with Booze Allen, in order to find out about their operations, Internet security and government secrets so he could take them and expose the information to the public. This allowed him to gain advantage of information and therefore be in a position to share it with the highest bidder, an enemy country or just use as a bargaining chip as drip by drip it is shared in the news.
Infiltration is a device with hooks. It is an end justifies the means concept, experts say, with motives and agendas. It is the nature of war and the nature of a man who sees an opportunity and uses it for capital or personal gain.