cold war a state of international tension in which political, economic, technological, sociological, psychological, and paramilitary measures short of overt armed conflict are employed to achieve national objectives.
collection the gathering of intelligence.
communication deception use of devices, operations, and techniques to confuse the communications link or navigational system of the enemy.
compartmenting the sharing of sensitive information only among others who absolutely must know, a security method used by various intelligence groups. Vertical compartmenting is the strict limiting of information up or down a chain of command. Lateral compartmenting is the strict limiting of information among peers.
compromised referring to a breach of security or secrecy.
concealment device any device such as a miniature recorder or camera inside a pen, used to gather and transport information.
confusion agent an agent dispatched to confound the intelligence or counterintelligence of another nation rather than to collect information.
counterdeception efforts to negate, neutralize, or diminish the effects of a foreign deception operation.
counterespionage the detecting, neutralizing, exploitation, and prevention of espionage activities by another country.
counterintelligence any misinformation used to deceive the enemy.
countersabotage action designed to detect and counteract sabotage.
countersubversion action designed to detect and counteract subversion.
courier a messenger or espionage agent carrying secret documents.
cover any type of facade employed to protect one's identity or purpose; a disguise, a phoney job or name, or a made-up excuse for being at a particular sensitive location.
cover stop a stop made by an agent, such as into a store, to give the impression to anyone following, that his trip is innocent.
covert operation any secret or undercover operation.
critical intelligence any information of extreme importance, such as indications of the imminent outbreak of hostilities.
cryptanalysis the converting of encrypted messages into plain text without having knowledge of the encryption key.
cryptology the science of hidden, disguised, or encrypted communications.
cryptonym a code name.
cultivation a deliberate and calculated association with a person for the purpose of recruitment, obtaining information, and so forth.
dangle operation a ruse in which one who appears to be a rich resource of intelligence, but who is in reality a double agent, is made obviously available for plunder by enemy intelligence.
dead drop any secret location used as a place to drop off information or packages for someone else to pick up at a later time.
dead telephone a technique of communicating a message by means of a telephone signal without the need of speech. It may be as simple as letting the phone ring 13 times and then hanging up.
declassify to cancel the security classification of an item of classified matter.
decrypt to convert encrypted text into plain text by deciphering and decoding.
diplomatic cover the guise of a diplomatic official who is actually a case officer for the CIA and may use diplomatic immunity to avoid prosecution by a foreign nation.
disinformation inaccurate information broadcast about troop strength, secret maneuvers, or other military plans to deceive the enemy.
double agent an agent who has infiltrated enemy intelligence and works for them as a "quasi" spy while gathering information for the other side.
dual agent an agent who works for two or more agencies, collecting information for both.
elicitation acquisition of information from a person or group in manner that does not disclose the intent of the interview or conversation.
ELINT CIA abbreviation for electronic intelligence.
encipher to convert plain text into unintelligible form by means of a cipher system.
encrypt to convert plain text into unintelligible form by means of cryptosystem.
escape line a planned route to allow personnel engaged in clandestine activity to depart from a site when the possibility of apprehension exists.
espionage actions directed toward the gathering of information through clandestine operations.
evasion and escape intelligence processed information prepared to assist personnel to escape if captured by the enemy or to evade capture if lost in enemy territory.
evasion and escape net the organization within enemy-held areas that operates to receive and move military personnel to friendly control.
exfiltration operation an operation designed to rescue or help a defector or CIA operative get safely away from a critical situation, or out of a hostile country entirely.
eye, the among a group of agents, one who maintains visual surveillance on a subject.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the United States agency that investigates and protects against terrorist attacks, foreign intelligence, organized crime, white-collar crimes, and other crimes, and often assists local police forces.
foreign instrumentation signals intelligence (FISINT) intelligence information derived from electromagnetic emissions from enemy hardware, machinery, weapons, and other sources.
FSB the Federal Security Service for the Russian Federation, a successor of the KGB.
gray propaganda propaganda from an unidentified source.
GRU the military intelligence agency for Russia.
handler in the CIA, a case officer in charge of a particular active agent.
hard target country any nation which the CIA perceives to be difficult to infiltrate and gather intelligence from.
HUMINT CIA abbreviation for any form of human intelligence.
imagery intelligence intelligence gathered from the use of photography, infrared sensors, lasers, electro- optics, and radar sensors.
IMINT CIA abbreviation for imagery intelligence, particularly satellite photos.
infiltration the placing of an agent within enemy territory.
infiltration, black crossing a border through illegal concealment.
infiltration, gray crossing a border with the use of false documentation.
infiltration, white legal crossing of a border.
intelligence any form of information, whether in the form of text, photos, videos, intercepted electronics communications or other media concerning another nation's political or military operations.
KGB the intelligence-gathering agency of the Soviet Union, formed in 1954.
legend the false identity used by a CIA case officer. The identity is frequently that of an actual, but deceased person.
microdot a photo reduced to the size of a pinhead.
mole a spy; a double agent who has worked undetected among the enemy for a significant length of time.
overt operation the collection of intelligence openly, without concealment.
padding extraneous text added to a message for the purpose of concealing its beginning, ending, or length.