Holey Moley

Sun Tzu
Art of War Ch 13

"...what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is FOREKNOWLEDGE. Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive calculation. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men. Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: (1) Local spies; (2) inward spies; (3) converted spies; (4) doomed spies; (5) surviving spies. When these five kinds of spy are all at work, none can discover the secret system. This is called "divine manipulation of the threads." It is the sovereign's most precious faculty."

"...it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move."

Art of War, Sun Tzu
More from Ch 13, The Use of Spies
(MOLES)

"Having LOCAL SPIES means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district.

Having INWARD SPIES, making use of officials of the enemy.

Having CONVERTED SPIES, getting hold of the enemy's spies and using them for our own purposes.

Having DOOMED SPIES, doing certain things openly for purposes of deception, and allowing our spies to know of them and report them to the enemy.

SURVIVING SPIES, finally, are those who bring back news from the enemy's camp."