| rdfs:comment | - In the context of tradecraft, covert and clandestine are not synonymous. The adversary is aware that a covert activity is happening, but does not know who is doing it, and certainly not their sponsorship. Clandestine activities, however, if successful, are completely unknown to the adversary, and their function, such as espionage, would be neutralized if there was any awareness of the activity. Saying a "covert cell structure" is tantamount to tautology, because the point of the cell structure is that its details are completely hidden from the opposition.[citation needed]
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| abstract | - In the context of tradecraft, covert and clandestine are not synonymous. The adversary is aware that a covert activity is happening, but does not know who is doing it, and certainly not their sponsorship. Clandestine activities, however, if successful, are completely unknown to the adversary, and their function, such as espionage, would be neutralized if there was any awareness of the activity. Saying a "covert cell structure" is tantamount to tautology, because the point of the cell structure is that its details are completely hidden from the opposition.[citation needed] A sleeper cell refers to a cell, or isolated grouping of sleeper agents that lies dormant until it receives orders or decides to act.
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