What is intelligence? What is intelligence?

What is the purpose of Intelligence refers to a state's awareness and intelligence services? understanding of its strategic environment, gained by way of gathering and analysing secret and What are the activities of open-source information. Aside from this, intelligence intelligence services? can also denote: • the organisations producing such knowledge; How is intelligence produced? • the activities pursued by these organisations;

What types of intelligence • the organisational processes directing these services are there? activities; and What about legislation on • the product resulting from these activities. intelligence services?

What are the democratic What is the purpose of intelligence standards that should govern services? intelligence services? Intelligence services:

Further information • provide analysis in areas relevant to national security;

• give early warning of impending crises;

• serve national and international crisis management by helping to discern the intentions of current or potential opponents;

• inform national defence planning and DCAF military operations; • protect secrets, both of their own sources and activities, and those of other state agencies; and

• may act covertly to influence the outcome of events in favour of national interests.

This document is part of the DCAF Backgrounder series, which provides practitioners with concise introductions to a variety of issues in the field of security sector governance and reform. What are the activities of How is intelligence produced? intelligence services?

Collection is the acquisition of data. It Intelligence is produced in a five-step involves the use of open sources, as well as process: planning, collection, processing, clandestine sources, such as spies, agents analysis and production, and dissemination. and defectors. Planning is the management of the entire Analysis is the screening and collation of intelligence production effort, including: data and their transformation into • the request for specific intelligence intelligence products that help policy- from the executive, legislative, or makers by providing relevant and agency itself; trustworthy information designed to make sense of complex situations and issues. • the definition of relevant data needs;

Counterintelligence focuses on preventing • the prioritisation of issues; and foreign intelligence services or other • the identification of state and non-state foreign-controlled groups from committing actors that warrant surveillance. espionage, subversion and sabotage against the state. This consists of defensive Collection is the gathering of information measures, such as inquiries, vetting and using methods such as: surveillance, and offensive measures, such • open source intelligence — the as conducting operations to penetrate, assembling of openly available deceive, disrupt and manipulate these information, such as that provided in organisations. the media and academic journals;

Some countries also practice covert • human intelligence — information action. This is the direct influencing of collected from agents, defectors, foreign political, military or economic diplomats; or from reports from conditions without this influence being counterintelligence operations, inter- attributable to the state. Covert action is rogations, discussions with foreign an option short of military action to personnel, etc.; and achieve objectives that diplomacy and other policy means cannot. Such action • technical intelligence — data and includes, but is not limited to: information collected through intercepts; monitoring and localizing of • propaganda; radio, microwave, radar and other • support to foreign political or military means of electromagnetic emission; factions; communications intelligence; electronic intelligence; telemetry intelligence; • assistance to foreign governments; and foreign instrumentation signals • disruption of illicit activities on foreign intelligence; cryptology intelligence; soil. measurement and signatures intelligence; imagery intelligence; In most democracies with multiple photographic intelligence and computer intelligence agencies, covert action is network exploitation. performed only by external intelligence agencies.

2 Processing is the conversion of collected Intelligence services whose mandates are information into a form more suitable for based on a specific issue or domain analysis by such means as decryption and include: translation. • Military or Defence Intelligence Analysis and production is the conversion Services that generate intelligence of information into finished intelligence relevant for defence planning and the products. For these products to be useful, support of military operations; the analysis must be relevant, timely and • Criminal Intelligence Services that accurate. They should explain how their produce intelligence on organised conclusions have been arrived at and, crime, corruption and criminal activities when possible, the sources used. The to aid in law enforcement. primary factors supporting the analysis should be explained, as well as alternative • Specialised national centres that focus outcomes if these factors change. Effective on particular issues, such as the US intelligence also makes clear what remains National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC); unknown. • Special issue-based coordinating units Dissemination is the distribution of the that bring together several intelligence finished intelligence product to vetted or actors and/or other branches of otherwise authorised decision- and government. Examples of this include policymakers. the Dutch CT-InfoBox, which coordinates anti-terrorism efforts of the intelligence service, National Police, Immigration What types of intelligence Service and other agencies; and the US services are there? Office of Terrorism and Financial In countries with multiple intelligences Intelligence (INF) of the Department of services, there are several types of Treasury. agencies. Different collection methods, especially Intelligence services whose mandate is those using technological means, can also based on a specific geographical area of give rise to more specialised intelligence operation include: agencies. Such entities include imagery, signals and cryptology intelligence • External or Foreign Intelligence agencies. The US NSA, the Russian FAPSI Services that collect, analyse and and the British GCHQ are probably the produce intelligence relevant to the largest of such agencies in terms of staff external security of the state and warn and budget. of impending external threats; For smaller states, having just one ‘fused’ • Internal or Domestic Intelligence intelligence agency is a way to conserve Services, often called security services, resources and to avoid duplication of that collect and analyse data relevant to effort. The Spanish CNI, the Dutch AIDV, the internal security of the state and the Turkish MIT and the OSA of the maintenance of public order and Bosnia-Herzegovina are examples of safety. attempts to overcome the traditional

3 distinction between operations on national • limits of competence and restrictions soil and abroad. imposed on activities;

For larger states with multiple intelligence • the relations among the services services, the mandates of intelligences working within the intelligence agencies sometimes overlap. This community and their coordination; redundancy may result in useful competi- • the means by which the services are tion among agencies if it can reveal held accountable, including mechanisms differences of opinion and cast doubt on of executive control, legislative over- unnecessary assumptions. But it can also sight and judicial review; and prove wasteful, which should be guarded against through close cooperation among • the legal means to deal with complaints agencies. in cases of agency misconduct. Purposes and targets of external and What about legislation on internal intelligence collection differ, as do intelligence services? the accompanying risks. It is important that management, control and accountability Intelligence services are legitimate only arrangements reflect these differences. The when their exceptional powers are derived legal framework should require that from proper legislation. Laws governing intelligence services observe democratic intelligence services should provide a clear standards and norms. and specific mandate, including:

• geographic areas of responsibilities;

• subjects of investigation;

Example of a Fused Intelligence Sector: The Netherlands

INTERNAL SECURITY EXTERNAL SECURITY

Ministry of the Interior Ministry of Defence

Counterterrorism General Intelligence and Military Intelligence and coordinating unit Security Service (AIVD) Security Service (MIVD) (CT-Infobox) Royal Military Police (Kmar), in charge of international intelligence cooperation joint control

National Signals Intelligence Special Assistance Unit (BBE), Organisation (NSO) anti-terrorist unit of the Marine Corps

Abbreviations indicate the name of the organisation in Dutch.

4 What are the democratic standards • A distinction is sometimes made between that should govern intelligence the behaviour of intelligence services services? in-country, where they are required to respect domestic laws, and the un- Intelligence services have to do much of regulated nature of their behaviour abroad. their work in secret; the disclosure of In today’s international environment, sources, methods, resources, or successes national accountability for actions abroad could seriously compromise their needs to be reinforced. For example, in the effectiveness. This means that they cannot case of covert action, national legislation be as transparent as other government should require a clear chain of command entities and that special mechanisms are between the actions of agents in the field required for their oversight. (For additional and the highest levels of the executive information on this issue, see the DCAF branch. This is essential if the liability of Backgrounder on Parliamentary Oversight of elected officials is to be secured. Intelligence Services.) • Intelligence services need to be • Democratic control of intelligence professional and non-partisan; intelligence services begins with a clearly defined services need to be able to serve the legal framework stipulating that the nation effectively, notwithstanding intelligence community must respect the changes of government and policy. rule of law and recognise the human rights and fundamental freedoms of citizens. This law should also establish the bases for all aspects of intelligence scrutiny, including internal control Further Information mechanisms (such as an Inspectors Oversight and Guidance: The Relevance of General or Ombudsmen), clear executive Parliamentary Oversight for the Security control through the appropriate officials Sector and Its Reform or ministries, a solid basis for judicial Born, Fluri and Lunn (eds.), 2003 review and the appropriate mechanisms www.dcaf.ch/_docs/dcaf_doc4.pdf for parliamentary oversight. Reforming Intelligence: The Challenge of • Intelligence services must also be Control In New Democracies subject to all laws on personal data and Bruneau and Dombroski, undated communications privacy. If special www.ccmr.org/public/library_file_proxy.cfm/ circumstances require the secret lid/5258 monitoring of communications, then law should establish a judicial mechanism Related Issues with vetted personnel who are authorised to review these actions. • Contemporary Challenges for the Intelligence Community • If intelligence services are to operate appropriately, they need intelligent • Intelligence Fusion and Coordiantion tasking from the executive, supported • Parliamentary Oversight of the by an effective management system that Intelligence Services ensures responsible direction.

5 Types of Intelligence Services in Selected European Countries

Country Fused External Internal Criminal Military Signals

Austria X X X X Belgium X X X Bulgaria X X X X X Czech Rep. X X X X Denmark X X Estonia X Finland X X France X X X X X Germany X X X X Greece X Hungary X X X X Ireland X Italy X X Luxembourg X X Netherlands X X Norway X X Poland X X X Portugal X X Romania X X X X Serbia X Slovakia X X Slovenia X X Spain X X Sweden X X X Switzerland X X X X Ukraine X X United King. X X X X X

An ‘X’ indicates one or more separate agency devoted to these jurisdictions, purposes or methods. Note that the absence of a checkmark does not mean that these countries do not perform functions in this area, but rather that they do not have an separate agency that deals with the subject. Denmark’s DDIS, for instance, is primarily a intelligence service, but it also tracks the movements of extremist groups abroad, which in other countries is a function of the external intelligence service. Source: individual country and agency websites.

6 DCAF Backgrounders provide concise introductions to contemporary issues in security sector governance and reform. The series is designed for the use of practitioners and policymakers. Your feedback is encouraged. Please send comments and suggestions to [email protected] David Law is the editor of the series. Fred Schreier and James Stocker contributed the material for this Backgrounder. James Stocker also provided editorial assistance. Other Backgrounders are available at www.dcaf.ch/publications/backgrounders

Available Backgrounders Forthcoming Backgrounders

• Challenges for Intelligence • Child Soldiers

•Intelligence Services • Military Justice Systems

• Military Ombudsmen • OSCE Code of Conduct

• Multiethnic Armed Forces • Parliaments & Defence Budgeting

• National Security Policy • Parliaments & Security Sector Procurement

• Parliamentary Committees on • Sending Troops Abroad Defence and Security • Understanding Security Sector Reform Parliamentary Oversight of Intelligence Services • Vetting for the Security Sector

• Private Military Companies

• States of Emergency

The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) promotes good governance and reform of the security sector. The Centre conducts research on good practices, encourages the development of appropriate norms at the national and international levels, makes policy recommendations and provides DCAF in-country advice and assistance programmes. DCAF's partners include governments, parliaments, civil society, international organisations and the range of security sector actors such as police, judiciary, intelligence agencies, border security services and the military. Visit us at www.dcaf.ch