2 Presentation of Public Report 2020 by Director of SHISH 5 COVID-19 and its impact on security 6 Use of the situation created by COVID-19 by adversary countries and hostile intelligence services 7 Disinformation, misinformation and influencing activities 9 Cyber threats created during COVID-19 pandemics 11 COVID-19 impact on the activities of terrorist and extremist organizations 11 The role of conspiracy theories in the picture of violent extremism 12 Terrorist threat in the region and in our country 13 Impact on illegal immigration 14 Impact on the activities of organized crime 15 Impact in corruption 16 Intelligence product 18 The establishment and improvement of IT&T capacities to face current and future threats 19 Strategy of SHISH 21 Strategy of human resources 2020-2023 23 Vetting process 24 Changes in the Law on the status of the employees of SHISH 25 Law on the status of the employees of SHISH 27 Recruitment 2020 29 Annual training report - Training center 30 New structure of SHISH 31 Women in intelligence 32 Financial activities of SHISH 33 Terminological dictionary for security and intelligence 36 List of abbreviations PUBLIC REPORT 2020 2

Presentation of Public Report 2020

Dear reader, Internal Control Service of the Ministry of In- terior, General Directorate for the Prevention have the honor to present, through the of Money laundering, General Directorate of Ipages of the Third Public Report, the one- Prisons, District Police Directorates and Dis- year activity of the State Intelligence Service, trict Prosecution Offices. We have strength- highlighting some of the achievements, chal- ened and increased human and technologi- lenges, problems, priorities and objectives. cal capacities to counter cyber threats, which During 2020, the State Intelligence Ser- have increased considerably since the start of vice has been supported and appreciated by the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The in- the political decision-makers. As a result of crease in the online work of state and private this support, the changes on “The status of entities, due to the pandemic situation has cre- SHISH employee” and some amendments ated a space for numerous attacks of this na- approved by the Decisions of the Council of ture, both for cybercrime and cyber espionage Ministers bring to a higher level the work, activities. Cyber-attacks from non-friendly ac- performance and financial treatment of our tors targeted Albanian governmental institu- employees. The goal of the legal amend- tions and the private sector. Meanwhile, state ments on “The Status of SHISH employee” and non-state actors continued their disinfor- was the improvement of the status of our em- mation, online influencing activities and- ex ployees, promoting quality and effectiveness tremist propaganda, thus impacting the pub- in the accomplishment of the duties, through lic opinion. SHISH improved the work of the the evaluation of the professional and ethical relevant structures and established new units skills. These amendments guarantee, inter for the application of security protocols and alia, a status and a special protection for our effective response to such activities. colleagues who face organized crime and COVID-19 pandemic has brought changes corruption, terror and other threatening phe- to the security environment, to the modus nomena that violate national security. operandi of the actors in the domain of na- During 2020, relying on the annual priori- tional security, of intelligence activities and ties of the Prime Minister, SHISH was en- their respective objectives. The pressure on gaged in the completion of its tasks and mis- the economy, health system and daily activi- sion, focusing on several directions, such as: ties has led SHISH to face new phenomena threats coming from different geo-political and adjust its working methods to the new tensions and non-friendly intelligence activi- situation. There are noticeable attempts to ties, prevention and disruption of organized decrease the public perception on the effec- crime activities in general and narco-traffick- tiveness of state institutions to face the situ- ing in particular, crimes in economy, corrup- ation, spread of disinformation, conspiracy tion and cybercrimes, etc. theories and dissemination of fake news SHISH responded to such illegal activities from global non-Western actors who aim to by increasing the focus of its work, with con- increase their influence and hinder the Euro- crete plans to prevent and crack down such Atlantic integration processes in the region. activities in cooperation with the law-enforce- Non-friendly countries and their intelligence ment agencies and partner intelligence ser- and security services used classical and hy- vices and agencies. SHISH has further deep- brid forms to collect information and dissem- ened the cooperation at the central and local inate their rhetoric, to influence the public levels with the General Prosecutor’s Office, opinion towards their political and econom- Special Court of Appeal for Corruption and ic objectives. They are at the same time en- Organized Crime, State Police Directorates, gaged in clandestine intelligence operations 3 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE in the function of their geo-political goals. In this context, SHISH increased its cooperation with the relevant agencie, such as National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI) and other institutions that were targeted and at- tacked and offered its expertise. At the same time, SHISH has taken measures to increase its internal security and the security of its personnel, has increased technological capacities for cyber security and has adapted its operational and intelligence activities, in accordance with the new conditions. SHISH has followed the dynamics of regional developments. The situation in West- ern Balkans, despite positive developments, such as the full accession of Northern Mace- donia to NATO, is still vulnerable from certain factors, including inter-state disputes, internal political problems, activities of third actors, the presence of foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) in conflict areas, their followers, the presence and activities of organized crime as the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Af- groups with regional and international ties. fairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, The biggest challenge to the region is the nor- Ministry of Defense (DISA), prosecutor’s Of- malization of relations between Kosovo and fice, Police etc. During 2020, SHISH continued Serbia and their mutual recognition. to further contribute and increased coopera- SHISH paid a special importance during tion, especially with the strategic and regional 2020 to the vetting procedures, providing its partners, NATO and EU structures, in facing contribution to a process focused on quality, joint challenges and threats posed by espio- objectivity and impartiality. nage, international organized crime, terrorism From an organizational point of view, etc. Partner intelligence services and agencies SHISH has successfully implemented the have expressed several time their positive new organizational structure approved by evaluations for SHISH expertise on the is- the Prime Minister, with the goal of augment- sues of the Western Balkans, and have further ing its capacities to become a more dynamic deepened the cooperation in the exchange of and contemporary Service. intelligence assessments towards foreign non- Likewise, despite the situation created by friendly actors in the region, threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, SHISH successfully terrorism etc. completed the recruitment of the new candi- Finally, I would like to inform you that, dates who applied to become members of the Public Report 2020 is a continuation of our Service. SHISH continues to pay special atten- concrete attempts, in the framework of our tion to gender representation of its employees, ambition to improve the image and to open to increasing the number of women in leading the public. On my behalf and on behalf of my positions. SHISH continued to provide its colleagues, I use this opportunity to transmit contribution with analytical and intelligence to you the maxim commitment of the State products, which are dynamic, objective and Intelligence Service in the completion of its useful for the political decision-makers, high constitutional and legal tasks, in the function state institutions, law-enforcement agencies of national security. and partner intelligence services and agencies. SHISH increased and consolidated its intelli- HELIDON BENDO gence role in the cooperation with other insti- Director of SHISH tutions contributing to National Security, such PUBLIC REPORT 2020 4 5 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE COVID – 19 AND ITS IMPACT ON SECURITY

he year 2020 is marked by pandemics the economic slowdown. A protracted pandemic caused by Covid-19 and its impact on and further recession in the economies of Euro- Tsecurity issues. The crisis caused by pean Union will make it difficult to manage the Covid-19 challenged the existing health infra- current economic crisis. Despite the tendencies structure, deteriorated the global economy by of other non-EU countries to invest, EU is the influencing the processes of globalization, po- main economic contributor to our region. Any litical integration, and the political stability, which shortfall in direct foreign investment in the re- resulted in increased political fragmentation and gion will be intended to be filled by third-party weakened public perception on the effectiveness economic actors, from non-EU countries, in an of international organizations, the collective re- attempt to increase their influence. Providing fi- sponse, the credibility of scientific information nancial support to the private sector remains a and the capacities of governments to deal effec- challenge, which can be used for investments or tively with the situation. credits by non-Western actors in the pursuit of This situation has been accompanied by the their geopolitical objectives. flourishing of populist and nationalist agendas, The crisis caused by Covid-19 and economic propaganda and disinformation, and has provid- problems have had an impact on the social-po- ed a fertile ground for non-Western global actors litical stability. Countries with already scheduled to target democratic systems and influence public election processes considered rescheduling them perception about them. The pandemic situation and some of these countries faced uncertainty will probably have a strong and lasting impact on and a lack of public confidence in handling such the geopolitical, economic, and political and se- situations. However, the electoral processes were curity dynamics. developed according to the timetables in the Re- The economies of the countries of our region public of Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Mon- and that of our country are impacted by COV- tenegro and there were no security issues for the ID-19. Governments had to review their annual functioning of the political systems. budgets and take stimulus measures to prevent There have been increasing accusations PUBLIC REPORT 2020 6 against the governments and political elites the same dimensions. There are many instanc- for lack of adequate measures and misman- es where calls have been made on online social agement of the situation, seeing them as the media, from certain individuals or groups to cause of economic panic. The restrictions and provoke and generate discontent and popular austerity measures were seen as a violation of backlash against restrictive measures, taken by fundamental freedoms and human rights, ac- the governments. Insecurity and conspiracy companied with violent protests that did not theories that characterized online portals and affect the security situation. There were ten- social media networks have weakened public dencies in our region to mirror the pattern of perception of a collective and effective inter- violent protests of some European countries national and national response to the pandem- and more broadly, but the protests were not in ic crisis management.

USE OF THE SITUATION CREATED BY COVID-19 BY ADVERSARY COUNTRIES AND HOSTILE INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

Non-Western countries are using the situation activities. Opposing state actors have used the caused by Covid-19 for their geopolitical goals, global interest of social media for Covid-19 to to strengthen the position as global actors, to spread their stories, propagate their superiority disrupt cohesion in the EU and NATO, by sup- over democratic countries, to target democratic porting each other’s narratives in the field of systems, in an attempt to present new argu- information, according to ments to support their their objectives. views and goals. They have also used This propaganda in- a wide range of hybrid cludes any information means to undertake intel- generated by Western ligence operations during media that highlights the pandemic, such as: Euro-skepticism and media campaigns, dissem- promotion of any news ination of fake news, in- about the models of citing and spreading con- their political systems spiracy theories via social compared to Western media, use of security and governments. intelligence agencies, cy- Countries of the re- ber operations, state and gion are portrayed as non-state actors. weak and incapable of The global health crisis managing the situation, is used by them to pro- highlighting the lack of mote divisive agendas, support from Westerns to become a factor in the international arena countries and international organizations, such and to increase the impact of their influencing as the EU and NATO. 7 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

DISINFORMATION, MISINFORMATION AND INFLUENCING ACTIVITIES

he situation created by the pandem- of the elements of hybrid warfare. This Tics is accompanied by an aggres- is used by them to promote their strategic sive campaign of disinformation, which objectives, to counter western influences has had a negative influence on response and to hinder Euro-Atlantic integration measures and public perception of the processes. Historical issues, the alleged real threat posed by Covid-19. mistreatment of the countries of the re- Non-Western state and non-state ac- gion by the western countries, claims for tors were engaged in disinformation cam- the use of double standards when solving paigns related to Covid-19, deteriorat- specific problems for the Western Balkans ing the crisis and undermining efforts to are at the center of their propaganda. overcome it. These disinformation The alleged Western reluctance to campaigns have also spread the assump accelerate the accession process of tions that the West has created the WB countries, internal weaknesses, virus, that it is “a biological weap- especially in pro-western coun- on” that the EU has failed to tries (ex: nationalism, ethnic manage the pandemics that minorities and weak state the euro-Atlantic institu- institutions); the portrayal tions lack the capacities of the Albanian factor as for collective response and a threat to the region and that they will disintegrate the role of Albanians as in such situations etc. promoters of national- Online social media net- istic policies and the so- works have been used as a called “Greater Albania” tool to convey conspiracy are some of the main topics theories and fake news to the of their propaganda. Along public. Besides the use of media with the objective of hindering assets, or media sponsored and guid- the Euro-Atlantic progress, this pro- ed by them to manage targeted disinformation paganda aims to promote their image and in- campaigns, the simple unintentional dissemi- terests, to encourage anti-NATO sentiments, nation of false information and conspiracy increase inter-ethnic tensions and weaken the theories, the feeling of public uncertainty on cohesion in our region. the response to Covid-19 have promoted the In the myriad of conspiracy theories that have dissemination of the narratives of non-West- characterized the world situation, our region ern countries, propagated their superiority by and our country, such information has also been targeting and labeling Western countries as disseminated through social online media in na- failed democratic systems. tive languages. A number of conspiracy theo- In our country and in the region, propa- ries distributed by propaganda, social and me- ganda and disinformation campaign used by dia platforms have been reflected in state media non-western countries in their geopolitical publications, registered in those countries, with confrontation with the West, constitutes one or without clear state ties. The intentional distri- PUBLIC REPORT 2020 8 bution of such theories for click-through rea- role of the propaganda multiplier, the role of sons, even by social media accounts, has had an disinformation, enabling the interconnection impact on the public’s perception of the reli- of the Albanian speaking audience with intel- ability of the measures taken against Covid-19 ligence operations. and the real threat it poses. The online space The main objectives of the strategy and in- of our country and that of the countries in our telligence operations of non-friendly countries region became a distributor of such stories. are the provocation and amplification of po- The intelligence agencies of non-Western ac- litical, social, ethnic and religious divisions; the tors have increased influencing activities during progressive undermining of the public confi- the electoral campaigns, important events and dence in the democratic processes and systems, decision-making processes of strategic impor- in the national and international democratic in- tance for the euro-Atlantic integration, with stitutions; the lack of cohesion at the national the aim of blocking or delaying such processes, and international levels, between the members amplifying the existing problems, portraying of NATO and EU; the manipulation of the the region as unattractive to the west, target- public perception on these institutions and the ing certain western policies towards the region presentation of their political systems as suc- as double standard policies and unable to find cessful models in crisis management vis-à-vis solutions to the regional problems. Western countries and their international or- These actors are also interested in expanding ganizations. their economic influence in the region through investments and strategic projects using them as a springboard for political influence in the future, in the pursuit of their geostrategic goals. The financial investment needs of the region make their financial offers more attractive. The weak economic situation of the Western Balkan countries and the economic problems of some EU countries have led to the advancement of these investments in these countries. The pandemic has accelerated the use of ag- gressive diplomacy to promote the superiority of their political systems. The propaganda that accompanied the deliveries of vaccines assistance, during the first months of the pandemics, is followed by increased propaganda as an instrument that testifies to their superiority in rivalry with the West. Stories from non-western countries have often con- verged, supporting each other’s narratives. Online media and social networks broadcast their stories in the native languages of the region, reinforcing the message of their effectiveness in managing the pandemic situation. They have also underlined the humanitarian aspect of the assistance to people in times of difficulties. Online portals have played the 9 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

CYBER THREATS CREATED DURING COVID-19 PANDEMICS

he Covid-19 pandemic has proven how has increased significantly. State and non- Ta situation with such great media and state cyber actors used the pandemic situa- international attention can be used by state tion to collect intelligence and to influence and non-state actors for cyber espionage, in- public opinion according to their interests. fluence activities and cybercrime. The intelligence services of these countries State and non-state online activities have were engaged in intelligence collection op- also been used by state actors and cybercrime erations in the service of their geostrategic as new vectors of attack to achieve their objectives. goals. The risk of cyber-attacks towards the Cyber criminals and actors supported by institutions in the healthcare, banking, tele- their sponsor countries have used the crisis, communication and decision-making entities exploiting the fear of the population and the need for information, to achieve their goals, taking advantage of the campaign related to the pandemic situation. The increased online activities of state and private entities, due to the situation and the low level of security, given the limited time available to strengthen protective measures enabled additional attack vectors. Non-state actors and criminal hackers also exploited the situation for financial gain. SHISH cooperates with the respective agencies responsible for cyber threats and has suggested specific measures to increase the protection of electronic networks from cyber-attacks, both for espionage and financial gain objectives, depending on specific cases and scenarios. The shift to online services of the banking and financial sectors will increase the likeli- hood of cyber-attacks. Any digitalization process must be accompanied by adequate protection measures. PUBLIC REPORT 2020 10

- In May 2020, a cyber-attack against the computer communication network of an economic entity was identified.

- At the end of September 2020, threats for cyber-attacks against the infrastructure of an economic operator were identified. The attack was aimed at shutting down the services offered by this economic entity and interrupting the provider’s activity for several hours.

- Attempted cyber-attacks against the unclassified network of SHISH were identified. They failed to extract sensitive or classified information, due to the security measures in place.

- Albania law-enforcement agencies arrested a former MEK member, confis- cating his electronic devices. This individual has been suspected, arrested and prosecuted for “Unlawful theft of computer data”, “Intervention in computer systems”, “Misuse of electronic devices”. This individual is believed to have used various operations to perform communications through a network messaging application, to connect to the mobile phones of other citizens. Af- ter this operation, he collected the verification code of the application, using it in his computer equipment.

11 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE COVID-19 IMPACT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF EXTREMIST AND TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS ince the announcement of global pan- more difficult. In the meantime, terrorist activities Sdemics by the World Health Organization have continued in the regions of conflict in Syria, (WHO), violent extremist organizations have Iraq, and Afghanistan using the security vacuum. seen opportunities to take advantage of the cri- Propaganda via internet remains one of the most sis, for propaganda and indoctrination purposes. widely used tools by terrorist organizations, which Both terrorist organizations, ISIL/DAESH and is used to disseminate radical ideology, to increase “Al-Qaida” have claimed that the virus is “the pun- the ranks of supporters, to recruit new fighters, ishment of God against the West” and the disease is as well as to encourage and inspire individuals to “the soldier of Allah”. Messages spread by the of- plan and commit terrorist acts. The organization’s ficial media of terrorist organizations about CO- so-called “Virtual Caliphate” continues to remain VID-19 have tried to incite hatred and calls for active, not only with its new propaganda content, attacks have increased. Propaganda has been con- but also by recycling old propaganda materials, sistent with the previous rhetoric of these orga- followed by online discussions/arguments and de- nizations, which try to explain natural disasters in bates on issues that concern the radical supporter their hostile countries “as the will of God”. network and aim at further indoctrination and in- During the pandemic, ISIL/DAESH continued crease of the ranks of the followers. to encourage their supporters to carry out isolated The consequences of COVID-19 in the medi- attacks in the West, but the concrete operational um and long term can create a security vacuum, possibilities to direct and conduct terror acts out- which can potentially be used by terrorist organi- side of the conflict regions have diminished con- zations. In countries in conflict and with a history siderably. Due to the international restriction mea- of conflicts, the extremist and terrorist organiza- sures, the movement of terrorist operatives and tions will tend to offer another alternative to the logistics material across the borders has become local population.

THE ROLE OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES IN THE PICTURE OF VIOLENT EXTREMISM he situation caused by COVID-19 and the pose, especially since “they are attractive” to their Tconspiracy theories that have accompanied followers in social media networks, and influence it have played their part in the picture of violent on reducing and weakening public perception in extremism. These theories, some of which are democratic systems. Not only populist movements, ideologically motivated, have contributed to the but also the civic anti-vaccine ones can use the situ- flourishing of populist agendas and amplified ation to increase the number of their followers and other extremist tendencies, such nationalist, racial later become a factor in the society and the political and gender tendencies, promoted and supported arena to further advance their agendas. by certain groups. These groups have increased In western countries, the situation of COV- propaganda, advocating the use of violence as a ID-19 is accompanied by violent demonstrations means of changing the situation in society and against police authorities and state institutions. achieving their political goals. Extremist propa- There have also been calls in the countries of ganda has influenced and often resulted in acts of our regions, by certain elements and groups, to violence against the police forces, refugee camps, reflect the protests of other European countries. has brought charges against the policies towards One cannot exclude the probable manipulation the refugees and migrants, as factors that destroy of these movements from non-Western actors to ethnic homogeneity. cause instability, a phenomenon identified in the Conspiracy theories are often used for this pur- USA and some western countries. PUBLIC REPORT 2020 12 TERRORIST THREAT IN THE REGION AND IN OUR COUNTRY errorist threat in Western Balkans (WB) and re-integration processes for certain catego- Tand in our country during 2020 contin- ries. ued to vary from low to medium, depending on The risk of using virtual space in social me- certain threatening situations. There have been dia networks, by groups and individuals with no acts of terror in our country and in the re- a radical profile, to disseminate extremist ide- gion and objectives or plans to undertake such ology and recruit other individuals remains acts have been thwarted early on by the security high for the region in general and for the Al- authorities. Attacks by lone actors and smaller banian-speaking areas in particular. The Alba- groups with no direct coordination with the ter- nian language occupies an important place in rorist organizations remain potentially possible. cyberspace, in terms of propaganda materials. During this period, there have been no terror- Propaganda in the Albanian language, regard- ist operatives identified as having used the illegal less of where and by whom it is produced, migration routes to enter our country or the re- is a media traffic that has an audience of the gion. In the meantime the Balkan route remains Albanian-speaking public, as a whole. Certain an important route for illegal migrants who wish individuals and groups continue to attend lec- to reach Europe. It cannot be excluded either tures with extremist content, distribute such that this itinerary can be used by certain terrorist literature to smaller groups and to their social operatives, who intend to commit acts of terror, and friendly connections, within the country and use it as transit to other European Union and in the region. countries. The situation of family members of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) from our country and the region in the Kurdish camps seems to be deteriorating. The terrorist organization aban- doned the residents of the so-called Islamic State, leaving them with no basic income to live on. While the organization is already in desper- ate need of human resources and capacity, it called on local extremist groups and operatives to launch attacks on the camps, with the aim of freeing family members and captured children. The organization aims to use this human potential to increase the human resources of the terrorist groups. Refugee camps are transformed into fertile and suitable ground for radicalization activities. The difficult humanitarian situation in the refugee camps and detention centers has fa- cilitated the radicalization of children and family members. Repatriation of this category presents a lower risk compared to their stay in conflict zones, under the influence of radical elements and terrorist organizations. Their repatriation will therefore allow prosecution according to the legal framework, participation in de-radicalization programs 13 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

Individuals convicted of terrorism and their supporters in the prison system have continued IMPACT to maintain a radical profile, with a tendency to radicalize other individuals. The main objective ON ILLEGAL of their placement in “41 Bis” prison regime is to inhibit radicalization activities. Although the imMIGRATION placement of this category of prisoners under this regime has caused reactions and revolts in n the state of border closure, due to the this system, its application is considered impor- Ipandemic situation, the trend of illegal en- tant for certain categories of prisoners. tries into the country has decreased. At the same Social media networks are being used for pro- time, the main network of facilitators of human paganda and inciting religious division, even trafficking have reduced its activities. There is within different lines in the same religious entity an increased presence of illegal clandestine indi- or community. In the meantime, a set of religious viduals in the urban areas. Social distancing mea- sects and missions, with activities in our country sures imposed by the countries affected by the the region, which refer to different interpreta- pandemics, the closure of some places used as tions of certain parts of holy books, propagate meeting points for illegal migrants, and between and distribute literature of proselytism and in- migrants and the facilitators has increased online doctrination, non-recognition of the democratic communication and interaction. state, the strict application of satanic practices, The activities of facilitators of human traffick- in some cases have harmed life and have had an ing in social media networks have increased, not impact on the public opinion about their role and only to promote the “demand-supply” but also mission. to collect information on the situation of corona virus and pandemics, to find out to what extend the countries of destination and transit were affected by the measures taken by the authorities etc. With the relaxation of measures, from the end of May and onwards, the number of detained migrants in the Albanian territory increased. Criminal networks, with their links inside and outside the country, continue to use this category for illegal crossings of the border, thus realizing financial gains. Much of this category of illegal migrants is guided and directed by criminal networks abroad and by networks in the countries of origin, transit or destination. Albanian and foreign nationals, with or without coordination between them have encouraged and favored illegal migration though the production and distri- bution of false documents. According to the Ministry of Interior data, during 2020 in total around 17,500 illegal immigrants have entered in Albania. The lowest number refers to the period of restrictions due to the pandemic situation, than the trend starts to grow with the relaxation of restrictive measures and weather conditions. There are two centers dedicated for immigrants in our country, one open and the other closed center. The PUBLIC REPORT 2020 14 closed center is used to keep immigrants with number of immigrants that seek asylum is low, suspicious background in order to proceed mainly they declare that they do not intend to with interviews and verifications by rule of law stay in the country, but use it as transit route to agencies in cooperation with our Service. The EU countries.

IMPACT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF ORGANIZED CRIME

nder the condition of the restrictions im- increased the type of involvement in crime and Uposed due to the pandemic situation, the continued to use the financial systems to hide groups involved in organized crime in general and launder illegal financial gains. Due to the clo- and drug-trafficking in particular have changed sure of air and land borders, members of crimi- their modus operandi, to have access to fund- nal groups have tried new routes to bring back ing for criminal activities, drugs or shipment of to Albania the financial income of the criminal drugs. product. For the cultivation of narcotic plants, like can- The organization of murders, acts of violence nabis sativa, the demands of local, regional and with consequences on life continue to have as foreign criminal groups for cannabis sativa cul- the main cause broken bargains of drug traf- tivated in Albania, the demand-supply ratio has ficking, fines, revenge and/or old enmities. This encouraged prices to rise and has continued to situation encourages criminal groups to be con- encourage the involvement of Albanian criminal stantly involved in conflict and physical elimina- individuals and groups in such activities, inside tion between them. The killings have moved to and outside the country. areas where their targets do not carry out criminal Considering the amount of trafficked drugs, activity, collaborating with third-party criminal cannabis sativa versus cultivation amounts, it is groups, which are not part of the conflict, but are estimated that there is still stock of cannabis sati- committed to providing necessary information to va from the production of previous years, stored organize the killing. Paid killers, who are usually and hidden in private facilities, by the people unrelated to the victim are often used for the sake who own it. of exposure and recognition, in the areas where There have been identified attempts by crim- such actions are taken. inal individuals and groups implicated in such In the framework of the operation “Force of illegal activities to get involved in the cultiva- Law”, the same forms as applied before were tion of cannabis sativa. Due to the increase identified, such as registering movable and im- of anti-cannabis measures in Albania, there movable property and economic activities, mainly is a tendency for indoor plant cultivation by on behalf of family members or third parties, on groups and members of criminal groups out- behalf of close and cooperative family and so- side the country. Within the country, cultiva- cial ties. Beyond the classical forms, on the use of tion takes place in remote areas, in small plots money generated by illegal activities, it is evident of land or indoors, in places adapted for this that some of the targets are more careful in the type of activity or the transfer of these activi- process of integrating monetary values in differ- ties abroad. ent areas of the economy. Criminal groups involved in the trafficking There are continuing efforts for the “de of hard drugs abroad continued their activi- jure” alienation of the property titles, to family ties, changed their modus operandi, due to the and social ties, through donations, multi-hand restrictive measures of the pandemic situation, transfer, using buy and sell operations and pur- 15 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE chase chain operations to distance from the to obstruct public and official control, to originator, pre-transfer to spouses/husbands, enforce non-traceability and to prevent the after resolving the marital status (“divorce”), seizure and confiscation of illicit assets. The in order to save what they have earned through same method is applied for the economic ac- criminal activities. These methods are used tivities they own. IMPACT ON CORRUPTION

ven during this period, corruption con- lighter sentences. Etinued in judiciary and in some other Certain justice officials, who are undergo- sectors of the public administration, where ing background checks, as part of the vetting the parties involved are found to be motivated process, are using this period for personal fi- by the mutual benefit interest. nancial gain, abusing their duty through cor- Bribery aims to exert illegal influence to rupt actions and passing court sentences con- obtain a public service from the people con- trary to the provisions of legal framework. cerned and in most cases it is closely linked to Certain public administration employees public officials (public service providers), who are also involved in illegal activities, which engage in illegal actions abusing their duty. manifest themselves in the forms of a viola- Some officials of the judiciary (prosecution tion of equality of participants in public pro- office and court system) are involved in illegal curement, the exercise of illegal influence in activities. the tax system and in the local government Such activities come in forms such as, ex- administration, where we see the phenomena ercising unlawful influence and corrupting of abuse of power through corrupt interac- interactions, facilitation of the position of tions. Money laundering, smuggling of ex- the defendants in various court cases, modi- cise goods, tax evasion and violation of food fication of security measures in favor of the safety rules are the most common crimes in defendant, reduction of sentences for the economy. accused from imprisonment to house arrest SHISH cooperates with the law enforce- or through the application of alternative and ment agencies, within the framework of inter-agency cooperation, and as part of the National Committee for the Prevention and Fight against Organized Crime, in compliance with Normative Act No.1, date January 31, 2020 “On the preventive measures within the framework of the reinforcement of the fight against terrorism, organized crime, serious crimes and consolidation of public order and security”, as well as in the function of providing intelligence support to the operation “Force of Law”. PUBLIC REPORT 2020 16 INTELLIGENCE PRODUCT

n the preparation of the intelligence prod- tions and recommendations. Meanwhile, the uct, along with the parameters related to product for law-enforcement agencies has been Iquality and objectivity. SHISH has paid concrete, actual and helpful in evidencing un- attention to an dynamic and timely information, lawful activities. as well as to its utility for the policy-makers, the In statistical terms, SHISH has produced dur- decision-makers of strategic level and other na- ing 2020 a total of 4989 informations for its tional security institutions. customers inside and outside the country, ac- SHISH has continued to inform the main au- companied with a qualitative rise of this final thorities, such as the President of the Republic, product. Compared to 2019, there are 595 more the Prime Minister, The Ministry for Europe informative products, or 13% more. and External Affairs, The Ministry of Internal For the internal customers, the intelligence Affairs and other ministries. The cooperation product has increased, especially in central level, and informative ex- leading to a balance changes with FPSs, in its percentage on strategic and op- (50% - 50%) com- erational levels over pared to the intel- common threats, ligence product for has increased and FPSs, respectively deepened. The co- 2482 informations operation with law for customers in- enforcement insti- side the country tutions and agen- and 2507 informa- cies, such as ASP, tions for FPSs. Special Anti-Cor- For the internal ruption Structure customers, the in- Intelligence product of SHISH over the years (SPAK), GDPML, telligence product etc, has increased. by SHISH served The intelligence to inform the high product destined state institutions, for high state au- such as the Presi- thorities was of dent of the Re- informative and public with 349 introductive value intelligence infor- on given situations mations, the Prime and threats against Minister with 435 national security, intelligence infor- their forms and mations, Ministry tendencies, or has for Europe and Ex- presented specific ternal affairs with problems, accom- The intelligence sharing 230 intelligence panied with predic- inside and outside the country informations, Min- 17 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

President

Prime Minister Ministries

Intelligence product for high state institutions istry of Internal Affairs with 144 intelligence investigative and law-enforcement institutions, informations, Ministry of Justice with 21 intel- especially with the prosecutor offices, such as ligence informations, Ministry of Infrastructure SPAK, Albanian State Police, mainly in the and Energy with 15 intelligence informations, framework of the Force of Law Operation, Ministry of Tourism and Environment with 15 with GDPML and other institutions. SHISH intelligence informations, Ministry of Defense has provided 860 intelligence informations with 10 intelligence informations and 27 intelli- for GSP, 174 intelligence informations for the gence informations for other ministries, accord- Prosecution, 97 intelligence informations for ing to their specifics. GDPML, 752 intelligence informations for SHISH has continued the cooperation with LPDs and so on.

97 - GDPML 22 - SHÇBA (IASC)

132 - SPAK

42 - Prosecution 860 - GDSP

752 LPD

Intelligence product 2020 for the Prosecution, GSP and other LEAs PUBLIC REPORT 2020 18

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF IT&T CAPACITIES TO FACE CURRENT AND FUTURE THREATS

he continued development of com- portance of cyberspace, a wide range of threats puter and technological systems dur- come from this direction. Ting this year made it necessary to take In this aspect, in 2020, SHISH applied new a different approach and make greater use of methods and technologies for the protection the possibilities and techniques offered. To of its perimeters and the prevention of any keep the pace with the technological develop- catastrophic situation from cyber-attacks, to ments, SHISH continued to develop IT&T ca- include new threats resulting from pandemics. pacities in terms of infrastructure, human re- In 2020, compared to 2019, an increase in sources, procedures and standards. malicious and threatening activities directed at In 2020, SHISH continued the process of the public infrastructure of SHISH was identi- digitalization, thus facilitating the work pro- fied. cesses and the work of its employees and sig- With the aim of identifying threats and the nificantly increasing the speed of interaction correlation between the malicious and threat between the different units of the Service. actors and factors, SHISH has enhanced ana- In general, digitalization is a long and difficult lytic and cyber intelligence capabilities, apply- process, from a technical and normative point ing systems and platforms from open sources, of view. which have been appropriately modified, com- Significant progress achieved in 2020 in this bined with the application of COTS (Commer- area, obliges and motivates us to pursue faster and cial off-the-shelf) products. safer steps to complete this important process. In house developments, the use and modi- In 2020, SHISH continued to improve of fication of software from open sources and IT&T infrastructure, keeping pace with the COTS, the rigorous application of security contemporary IT&T developments and main- policies and procedures has been at the center taining a reasonable balance between applying of pour work in 2020. new developments and best industry practices, The IT&T team of SHISH has continued paying particular attention to the aspects of cy- its professional self-training and has kept pace bersecurity. Due to this technological evolution with technological innovations and their rea- and the ever-increasing development and im- sonable application. 19 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

THE STRATEGY OF SHISH

uring 2020, SHISH compiled and the mission. The constantly changing security approved two strategic documents, environment has its influence on the challenges namely the “The Strategy of SHISH and threats we face and requires a different ap- D proach. SHISH aims to be flexible and adapt- for 2020-2023” and “The Strategy of Human Resources, 2020-2023”, followed by the respec- able, in the search for forms and methods to tive Action Plans. These are sectorial strategies place itself in an advantageous position in carry- that define the mid-term strategic direction of ing out its activities. our Service for the accomplishment of its mis- This document includes all aspects of the ac- sion and objectives. As tivity of the Service and The approach is based a novelty of our activ- allows the assessment on seven components: ity, the drafting process 1. Mission, vision and values; and planning of the ca- of the two strategic 2. The security environment, which pro- pacities for the accom- documents was based vides a comprehensive assessment of the plishment of its mis- on professional crite- security situation, taking into account devel- sion and objectives, as ria and methodologies. opment and changes in the national, regional defined in the respective The process of draft- and international context; National Security docu- ing these documents in- 3. The situation in SHISH - which describes ments, strategies related volved and engaged the the organization and functioning of the Ser- to the work of the Ser- operational, analytical, vice. vice and the Annual In- technical and support 4. Responsibilities in the accomplishment telligence Priorities of structures, with the aim of the mission, which describes the priori- the Prime minister. The of guaranteeing a uni- ties of the mission and expectations for its document is drafted as a fied document through accomplishment. concept of “a business- comprehensive consul- 5. Instruments and policies for strengthen- plan”, which is based on tations and a profes- ing the organizational and functional capaci- the effective planning sional approach, in line ties of the Service, describe and define con- of the human and infra- with the competences crete responsibilities in the accomplishment structural resources and of the units. The de- of the mission. their development in velopment of the strat- 6. Risk management, which describes the perspective. egy is an important act, methodology and methods for defining and In accordance with its within the framework managing risk factors. mission - which is to pro- of the efforts of the 7. Implementation of a strategy that gives vide timely, qualitative, Service to use to the the general organizational orientations, to important and useful maximum its capacities better meet the requirements of the strategy. information for higher for the achievement of state authorities on inter- PUBLIC REPORT 2020 20 nal and external threats directed against the na- capacities, in order to maximize and rationally use tional security of our country, against NATO and financial resources for the mid-term period 2020- its allies, SHISH must be guided by the vision that 2023. The organizational and functional capacity - it is a contemporary intelligence service, adapt- building instrument and policies are defined as able in the security environment that plays its role follows: in strengthening national security and contributes • Acquisition and provision of useful, qualita- to regional and international security. tive and objective intelligence product; The two main pillars of the Strategy of SHISH • Increase of contribution for the collective se- are presented in the responsibilities for the ac- curity; complishment of the mission and instruments • Consolidation and expansion of operational and policies for strengthening the organizational infrastructure; and functional capacities of the service, which • Improvement and expansion of analytical ca- describe and define the commitment with con- pabilities; crete and specific objectives. • Increase and expansion of cooperation with Based on the National Security Strategy, other international partners; inter-agency strategies, international commit- • Management and development of human re- ments and obligations, there are 10 (ten) respon- sources; sibilities foreseen for the accomplishment of the • Development of IT&T capacities; mission, which define the need for the timely • Strengthening the protection and analytical collection of objective information, responding capabilities against cyber threats; to the needs of policy makers and law-enforce- • Drafting and completion of legal framework. ment agencies, as well as our commitment and • More transparency for public opinion. contribution to international security. Departments, intelligence, operational, techni- Responsibilities for the accomplishment of cal, and administrative and support units, within the mission are handled horizontally, without the limits of their powers and competences are prioritizing them, taking into account their an- involved in the implementation of the Strategy. nual prioritization by the Prime Minister, and the These units have their responsibilities for the dynamics of the evolving security environment; implementation of the strategy and accomplish- Responsibilities for the accomplishment of ment of the mission. All units, depending on the mission are defined as follows: their areas of activity, should coordinate and co- • Countering the activities of hostile intelli- operate to have an integrated approach towards gence services; a common goal, to create a better organizational • Countering violent extremism and terror- and functional system. ism; The instruments and policies for strengthen- • Countering organized crime; ing the organizational and functional capacities • Countering economic crime and corruption; are entirely in the function of the fulfillment of • Countering proliferation of weapons of the responsibilities and are at the same time mea- mass destruction; surable indicators in the implementation of this • Countering threats to the environment; strategy, which is detailed in specific objectives • Countering threats to public health; and activities to be undertaken by the Service, in • Countering cyber threats; the framework of the Action Plan. The Action • Countering hybrid threats; Plan will be a document adjacent to the Strategy • Countering activities from abroad which of SHISH, developed in accordance with Mid- may violate national security. Term Financial Requirements, aimed at maximiz- The organizational and functional capacity ing financial capacities. The financial costs com- building instruments and policies, defined as ef- ply with the approved financial limits, approved fective and guidance mechanisms for the accom- by Law No.58/2019 “For the financial budget plishment of the mission are formulated in the 2020” and budgetary requirements of SHISH, concept of a strategic and operational plan, in- with reference to the final document of (Draft tegrating all infrastructure and human resources Mid-Term Budget), 2021-2023. 21 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

StrategY OF HUMAN rESOURCES 2020-2023

qually important is the “Strategy of Hu- evant framework for the Service to identify and Eman Resources 2020-2023”. It is the first recruit individuals with different professional strategy developed and focused on the policies skills. It also aims to encourage a professional and prospects for human resource development and ethical approach in the management of hu- and management, as one of the key elements for man resources, throughout their entire life cycle the achievement of success. Based on the “Strat- within the Service. egy of SHISH 2020-2023”, human resources de- Continuing demographic changes require the velopment and management policies, this strat- improved methodologies for identifying, select- egy aims to implement these policies through ing and recruiting new employees, based on the the definition of specific and strategic objectives. needs of the Service; the improving manage- One of the main goals, as defined in this Strategy, ment system for young employees, by offering is the recruitment and development of staff with a positive working environment; improving the different capacities and expertise, the promotion performance system; establishment of an inte- of diversity, professional, technical and cultural grated planning and development system that skills, teamwork etc., meets the professional qualification needs of the The unit in charge of Human Resources is an employees, development of policies promoting important factor in the decision-making process staff diversity and gender balanced representa- of the Service and a key component for the ap- tion in the intelligence community, creation and plication of management and development pro- promotion of the leadership culture. These are cesses to ensure the effectiveness of the objec- some of the challenges, which served as the basis tives of the Service. This document provides for the formulation of the strategic and specific the basis for a different approach, appreciat- objectives of the strategy. ing human capital and the ongoing change and Effective management of the professional transformation of the relevant units in charge life cycle of employees through continuous of human resources. improvement of specific processes, such as re- This strategy will contribute to the develop- cruitment, employment, development and career ment and promotion of the high performance advancement that have a direct impact on the culture of the employees, by providing the rel- performance of each employee and therefore on PUBLIC REPORT 2019 18 the performance of the The units respon- Service is the cornerstone The human resources approach sible for human re- of human resources man- is based on seven components: sources management agement policies. as well as the opera- A future challenge and 1. Mission, vision and values, which ex- tional intelligence objective at the same press our approach to human resources as departments, tech- time is the establishment the most substantial and important capital; nical and adminis- of an integrated manage- 2. The purpose by which the need to com- trative ones, which ment system, with a di- pile a strategy for human resources is justi- in their field are re- rect and unified approach fied. sponsible for man- in the culture and strate- 3. The current situation of human re- agement of their gic objectives of the ser- sources, as an important part of the strategy human resources, vice. The implementation for development of the objectives, based on are engaged in the of the Service policies is a methodical assessment of the current situ- implementation pro- closely linked to the ob- cess of the strategy. ation and definition of future challenges. jectives of different units The strategy is fol- 4. Employee professional life cycle, which and sectors for the man- lowed by an Action describes their entire life profile in the Ser- agement, development Plan, the purpose of vice. and motivation of hu- which is to support man resources, through 5. The organization chart of the units the achievement of transparent and profes- responsible for human resources manage- strategic objectives sional processes, aiming ment. A brief introduction of their mission linked to the devel- for clear and complete and responsibilities. opment and man- compliance with the poli- 6. Objectives defined on the basis of agement of human cies of the Service. SWOT analysis of the current situation, resources, to units in The strategy is followed which make it possible to define the future charge of human re- by an Annex -A, The Ac- goals for the management of human resources thought the tion Plan, which provides sources. definition of specific a description of the re- 7. Implementation of a strategy that gives objectives, to actions sponsible units, timetable a general organizational orientation, to bet- that will be carried out for the accomplishment ter meet the needs of human resources in the future, engage- of tasks and the financial strategy. ment of the respective costs. departments in com- The objectives formulated in this Strategy are: pliance with the schedule and fixed financial • Improving the processes and practices for costs, foreseen in the Mid-Term Draft Budget, the selection, recruitment and employment for the period 2020-2023. of applicants; The Action Plan of the Strategy of Human • Improvement of the performance manage- resources is developed and calculated to be ment system; within the mid-term budget requirements, aim- • Conceptual transformation and strengthening to maximize human resources and finan- ing of human resources management units. cial capacities. Financial costs comply with the • Improved support services; financial limits approved by Law No.58/2019 • Improved policies and programs to increase ‘On the budget of 2020” and the budgetary diversity of human resources, in particular requirements of SHISH, according to the Mid- the inclusion of women in the intelligence Term Draft Budget, 2021-2023. community; In the framework of fulfillment of obliga- • Establishment and development of a pro- tions stemming from the National Security fessional management staff and system; Strategy, in the development and compilation • Promotion of the leadership culture. the Inter-Sectorial Strategies, during October- 23 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

December 2020, SHISH participated in the contribution to the development of these strat- Inter-Sectorial Working Groups for the devel- egies, making proposals based on assessment opment of two strategies, respectively: “Inter- and analysis of the current and future possible Sectorial Strategy for the Fight against Ter- situations related to these phenomena, assess- rorism and Action Plan 2021-2025” and “The ments of the risk of terrorism and threat level Strategy against Organized Crime, and Serious of organized crime. The contribution of SHISH Crimes 2021-2025 and Action Plan 2021-2022”, is greatly appreciated by the entity which was which were compiled under the leadership of responsible for coordinating the various agen- the Ministry of Interior. cies for development and completion of these SHISH has given its concrete and professional documents.

VETTING PROCESS

SHISH, as one of the institutions responsible pendent Qualification Commission (IQC) and for national security is involved in the vetting the International Monitoring Operation (IMO) process. This process continues with increasing has increased, regarding the process of re-eval- volume and intensity. During 2020, a volumi- uation of the justice system employees. nous work has been done, in providing answers The Service has prepared about 3000 practices to the requests from other institutions and for for the persons verified. In terms of numbers the completion of practices within the required residence permits dominate, with over 7000 deadlines. people verified and visa applications with about In this context, the cooperation with the Inde- 3000 people verified. PUBLIC REPORT 2020 24

Regarding the involvement of SHISH in the vetting process, misunderstandings may arise caused by non-recognition of the process.

1. The official conducting the vetting process decides which person is suitable and clean and which is not. The truth is that the official (unit) responsible for the vetting process verifies information and data that exists in the databases and submits the materials to the relevant commission. The commission makes the final decision. The information gathered during the verification process is passed only to those who “need to know” it, which means that only a small number of people have access to it.

2. The vetting official digs into the applicant’s private life even outside the scope of the legal requirements. The truth is that the details of the applicant’s life are important in completing the background investigation process, but only those data related to the object of vetting are checked.

3. Persons under vetting process are intercepted by SHISH. The Albanian law clearly defines when the interception of e person’s communication is approved. In addition, the verification process is carried out in accordance with the vetting law and it is not the main condition for starting the interception of communications. Information and data indicating whether or not the person subject to background check is involved in criminal activities is relevant to the process.

CHANGES IN THE LAW “ON THE STATUS OF THE EMPLOYEES OF SHISH” Upon law nr.97, dated 23.07.2020, seniority at work, applications to be part some changes on the status of of SHISH, assignment of new employ- SHISH employees were approved, ees and probation period, job evaluation, consisting of the creation and im- criteria for career advancement, employ- provement of better conditions for ees transfer and their inherent financial the treatment of the employees, and benefits, improvement of criteria in more concretely: cases of discipline rules and regulations Clarification of acknowledgement of violations and their release from duty. 25 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

LAW ON THE STATUS OF THE EMPLOYEE OF SHISH

he legal framework that regulates the ac- for the employees conducive to the accom- Ttivities of SHISH and defines rights and plishment of their mission, and to face threats obligations of the SHISH employees, consists that are increasingly fluid, complex and cam- of two main laws: ouflaged in a constantly evolving security en- • Law no.8391, date 28 October 1998, amend- vironment. ed. In addition, thanks to this legal amendment, • Law no. 9357, date 17 march 2005 “On the the employees will benefit special protection, as Status of the Employee of the State Intel- they are daily confronted with the fight against ligence Service”, amended. crime. This protection is proportional to the From the end of 2019, SHISH took the legal tasks they perform and the real difficulties of initiative, under the auspices of the Prime Min- the work. ister’s office to amend the law “On the Status of This amendment has not brought substantial the Employee of the State Intelligence Service”, changes in the status of the employees, but has an initiative that was finalized with the approval regulated certain important aspects of the em- of Law No.97/2020, on some changes and ad- ployment relationship, such as seniority at work, ditions to law No.9357, dated 17 march 2005. job evaluation, the duration of the basic train- The aim of this amendment is to improve the ing course and the end of the employment re- status of SHISH employees, promoting qual- lationship with the Service, which will have a ity and efficiency in the performance of work, significant impact on increased performance at through the evaluation of the professional and work. ethical skills of the employees, which are clearly Therefore, the amendment specifically facili- reflected in their career advancement, within the tates the process of career advancement in the Service. middle management levels, which is a necessary The continuous improvement of the work re- step due to the operational dynamics and work lations in the Service aims to achieve consistent processes of the Service. The purpose of this standards, from the day of application to join change is to motivate employees, who are rated the Service, until the end of the employment “Good” for their performance, who are highly relationship. Another goal is to maximize the dedicated and committed to the tasks, have dif- length of employment and treat retired officers ferent useful skills and expertise, but have been with dignity, using the expertise of the former prevented from moving forward in their career employees and preparing the young generation due to legal obstacles and various other reasons. of officers, combining energy with maturity, a This legal amendment also seeks to ensure premise necessary to achieve the objectives. dignified and appropriate financial treatment Through this amendment, it is intended that of the employees, who are appointed and trans- the employees will use forms and methods of ferred away from their official residence for the work, as stipulated by law, that allow successful purpose of work. Covering financial costs will operations against the targets and timely col- motivate the employees to dedicate themselves lection and dissemination of information on and work in areas and regions where they do organized crime, terrorism, proliferation of not have the necessary infrastructure to live. weapons of mass destruction for the protec- Legal changes also provide for a transfer pe- tion the integrity, independence and constitu- riod, which cannot exceed three years. This is tional order of the country.At the same time, another guarantee for the efficient management legal changes aim to create the right conditions of human resources, meeting the needs of the PUBLIC REPORT 2020 26

Service employees on duty as well as planning human resources, as the most important asset, for the new recruits. the Service has invested and will invest for the This financial treatment offers the employee qualification and professional development of full reimbursement of their transfer costs and the employees, through training in our country financial compensation for the rental of the and abroad. To regulate the return of the in- apartment for accommodation of their family, vestment within the Service, it is foreseen that, in case the employee or any of the family mem- in cases of long-term training, for a period over bers do not possess a residence in the region six months, inside the country or abroad, the where he/she is transferred. The other option employee is obliged to stay and work for the is that the employees receive travel allowances. Service, two years after completing the training. This amendment also makes it possible to In case the employee refuses to return to the specify and determine the period of retirement, Service, he/she will face financial penalties. unifying the period of study in military high The security criterion is one of the main crite- schools, the police and other similar schools ria for persons looking for a job in the Service. with the period of study is these schools abroad. The background check and security investiga- Another change is the provision for the finan- tion process are applied to persons applying for cial treatment of mentors, due to the specifics employment in the Service, to family members of the work in the Service. The role of the men- or external associates/ties. This procedure also tor and mentorship in SHISH are very impor- applies to employees on duty, in the Service. tant for the continuation of our activities, as it Persons who do not meet the security require- is a relatively difficult profession that cannot be ments cannot be employed in the Service or taught on its own or achieved through learning. continue to have a working relationship with With the aim of motivating the mentor to pass the service. This legal amendment clarifies once his professional craft skills to the new employ- again the conditions when an employee is re- ee, it is established that a bonus will be given to lieved from duty, for non-compliance with the the mentor, in accordance with the internal or- security conditions, which was previously regu- der of the Director of SHISH, a practice taken lated only by Article 5 of the Status. According from partner services, and in accordance with to Article 5, the employees who did not meet the Ministry of Finance and Economy, for the the security criterion cannot continue to work funding allocated for this purpose. in the Service, without specifying the discharge In the framework of effective management of from duty, according to Article 45. 27 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE RECRUITMENT 2020

ecruitment procedures continued dur- The recruitment period was extended form ing 2020, based on the internal order the scheduled deadline, taking into account and Rof the Director of the Service on the complying with the instructions of the Ministry testing and selection of candidates who will be of Health, due to the situation created by CO- accepted for SHISH to work as case officers, and VID-19. amended due to the Covid-19 pandemic situa- Candidates who met the pre-selection criteria tion. had to take the written test followed by an oral in- This internal order was issued after the prelimi- terview, as per the internal Order of the Director nary study of vacancies, the average number of The total number of applicants was 277. employees who for family, health or other miscel- 244 applicants, who met the defined criteria were laneous reasons may request to leave, the number selected and approved to take the written test. of employees who have met the full retirement 231 applicants took part in the written test. criteria and the needs for candidates with special 111 applicants participated in oral interviews. language skills. The final evaluation of candidates was made The recruitment process of the field case of- based on the total number of points received ficers for 2020 proceeded with the relevant pro- during the two testing procedures, written test cedures for the selection of candidates who were and oral interview. going to be hired. At the end of the process, the Admission Com- The internal Order established the Admission mittee proposed to the Director of SHISH the Committee, the definition of the work proce- initiation of admission procedures for 45 winning dure, the drafting and approval of admission cri- applicants and 40 applicants on the waiting list. teria, requirements and deadlines for the candi- Upon the approval of the Director of SHISH, dates who applied, the official announcement in the unit responsible for the management of Hu- the media and SHISH’s official website, the col- man resources started security investigation pro- lection of application documents from the unit cedures for 45 winning candidates and 40 candi- responsible for Human Resources management, dates from the waiting list. the preparation of a complete and detailed sta- At the end of the screening process, 44 candi- tistics with complete data and information for all dates were selected who are currently attending applicants. the basic 9-month training course of the service.

applicants

of them met the criteria

took part in the written test

participated in oral interviews

currently attending the course PUBLIC REPORT 2020 28

Denisa - student

other students and learn from our mistakes. The faculty of the Training Center that conducts the training is made up of instructors with unique qualities and the perfect combination of theo- retical information and lectures with professional and personal experiences. Each new concept is demonstrated with real examples. The in-depth lectures provide a comprehensive picture of operational situations, concepts and definitions of I AM LEARNING... intelligence. Everything is designed for one purpose, the protection of national security. The y name is Denisa. After successfully com- teaching staff, endowed with unparalleled profes- Mpleting the competition and selection pro- sionalism strives to improve the necessary skills cess, I joined SHISH. I have had previous work of each student. Cultivating the culture of pa- experiences in the public administration, law en- triotism makes the course more impressive, as a forcement agencies, international organizations unique and necessary value that each of us must and the private sector. During my experience in have. During the training period, I realized that public administration and the private sector, I had the vision of the organization, expressed in the the opportunity to manage and implement differ- words of one of one of our national renaissance ent projects, mainly in the field of Information personalities “Let us try for our rights….for the and Communication Technologies. (ICT). benefit of our nation…” is not simply a propa- As soon as I joined the Service, I had to undergo ganda slogan, written on a piece of paper. During the basic training course at the Training Center of the training, we not only develop professionally the organization. I thought that I knew quite well but at the same time are educated with the best how the public administration works and that this human values and national consciousness. knowledge would facilitate the process of adapta- The training course includes important elements tion, in my new position in the organization. But, of general and professional education. Several con- during this period I discovered certain elements cepts, definitions and information that I thought I that make the training period very interesting. knew or I heard somewhere in the past are profes- The participation of trainers and speakers from sionally explained and clarified and fill in the gaps various social backgrounds, from different security of our puzzle. The lectures and the information and intelligence agencies, government entities, with provided by the trainers is organized in such a way diverse life experiences makes the learning process as to give a clear and a more complete picture. very interesting. Students complement each other At first, I had the prejudice that training would by sharing their knowledge and previous experi- be a regular process, just like other routine train- ences. The exchange of experiences is very impor- ing sessions. I also thought it was going t o be tant to us. All trainers give their perspectives, boring, but I was wrong because training was creating the possibility to think differently, to not like that. I am learning! Despite my age think “outside the box”. It is difficult to find and experience I am learning a lot. The another environment with such diversity. words of one of our famous writers During the training process and the Dritero Agolli, addressed to a group of breaks, everyone has the opportunity students seem so real and current: to learn from each other’s experiences. “People learn throughout their lives, Every day at the Training Center is from their childhood to adulthood, a challenging day, as we have to earn and in general a human being the trust of our instructors, the trust of is always a student”. 29 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

ANNUAL TRAINING REPORT

espite the difficulties caused by Cov- ICITAP, during 2018-2020. SHISH employees par- id-19, the Training Center of SHISH ticipated in the training program as national trainers. Dcontinued its activities and carried This training program, in which 4 employees out 25 (twenty-five) training sessions, where 336 SHISH participated, focused in countering the participants from SHISH, 44 from the Internal financing of terrorism. The training program Affairs and Complaints Service (SHÇBA) and 10 was organized by the Department of the OSCE from DISA (Defense Intelligence and Security Secretariat for Transnational Threats, in coopera- Agency) were trained. tion Global Program against Money Laundering, Some of the trainings were conducted in co- OSCE Presence in Albania, with the support of operation with other institutions and govern- the ICITAP (International Criminal Investiga- mental entities, such as The Security Academy, tive Training Assistance Program) and the Justice DISA, and General Directorate for the Preven- Department of the United States of America. tion of Money Laundering. Four (4) basic train- Referring to the evaluation reports of the State ing courses were also organized and completed, Department on Terrorism, published during with a total number of 99 participants. 88 of the 2020, this particular training program was part of trainees were from SHISH and 11 from DISA. a multi-year program of the OSCE and UNODC At the same time, cooperation with partners con- (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) for tinued, by organizing training seminars. It is worth capacity building in support of national efforts mentioning here the development and completion to combat the financing of terrorism in South of the online training session, regarding the prog- East Europe, in compliance with Security Coun- ress and indicators of the training program, orga- cil Resolution No.2462 of the United nations, Fi- nized in cooperation with the OSCE/UNODC nancial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) and commitments of OSCE. TRAINING CENTER

SHISH pays special attention to the initial and studies inside and outside the country, with the on-job training of its employees. Objectivity, bal- approval of the Director. anced attitude, professionalism and leadership SHISH has its own Training Center. instructions guide our activities. The activity of the Training Center is regulat- Law No.9357, date 17.03.2005 “On the Status ed by the Decision of the Council of Ministers of SHISH employee”, defines in article 13/e (DCM) No.1400, date 17.10.2008, “On the orga- that, one of the main duties of SHISH employee nization of courses in SHISH to train the partici- is to increase pants”, amended professional by the Decision skills and par- of the Coun- ticipate in train- cil of Ministers ing courses and (DCM) No.474, seminars. In ad- date 25.07.2012, dition, Article which defines 30/c defines that, “The Insti- that, SHISH tute (The Train- employee has ing Center) of the the right to be State Intelligence trained, quali- Service organizes fied and follow basic professional PUBLIC REPORT 2020 30 training courses for the intelligence preparation, intelligence services and agencies. as well as qualification training courses for the The Training Center of SHISH offers its Service employees , in the function of national services to the entire intelligence and security security. Type and duration of courses are deter- community in Albania, providing training in the mined by the Director of the Service. field of intelligence and security for the em- The mission of the Training Center includes: ployees of: • Professional preparation and basic training • Defense Intelligence and Security Agency of the new employees. (DISA). • Continuous professional development, qual- • Internal Affairs and Complaints Service ification and specialization of the employees. (IACS). • Transmission of new professional experi- • Internal Control Service of Prisons (ICSP). ences, in order to increase efficiency in fac- The Training Center with the aim of dissemi- ing new threats, especially those that impact nating and promoting the culture of security co- the economic-financial system, cyber space, operates with other institutions and agencies of critical infrastructure etc. To achieve this the public and education administration of our goal, SHISH cooperates with other partner country.

NEW STRUCTURE OF SHISH

n 2020, based on the priorities and ap- tion and control of the intelligence process. proved goals for the collection, process- More concretely, it has contributed to: Iing and dissemination of information, • The speed in the circulation of information. and increasing operational work efficiency • Better coordination for following opera- work, a new organizational structure for tional situations of joint targets between the SHISH was approved by the Prime Minister units in different districts. of Albania. • Increase of the quality of information. The main change consists in re-organization • Increase of the presence of case-officers in of Field Directorates into Regional Director- the field. ates. Referring to a previous successful pilot • Reduction of unnecessary leadership and project, SHISH is organized into several Re- support structures. gional Directorates. With the new organiza- • Strengthening and consolidation of the tional structure and its implementation, the competences of the field units, creating number of operational units has increased and the conditions for coordination in the ex- the number of support units has decreased. All ecution of the tasks and for organization, employees who had lost their positions, due to planning and control of the intelligence the new organizational structure have been ap- process. pointed to other positions in the Service. There • Better knowledge of the operational situa- is an effective functioning at all levels of the tion at the regional level. Service and progress in the process of collec- • Possibility for a more concentrated control tion, verification, documentation and evaluation for specific situations. of information, after the implementation of the • Better organization of team work and divi- new structure. sion of duties, according to the professional The new organizational structure has further skills and access in acquiring information. strengthened and consolidated the competencies • A more complete organization of the work of the Field Units, allowing better coordination of the Field Branches, according to the real in order to accomplish tasks, planning, organiza- operational needs and dynamics. 31 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE WOMEN IN INTELLIGENCE he role of family is very important have demonstrated a high sense of responsibil- in the successful accomplishment of ity, dedication in accomplishing tasks, perform- Tthe tasks assigned to the employees ing multiple tasks simultaneously, and results in of the intelligence community. The difficulties managing workgroups and units, and different and specifics of activities in the protection of perspectives on problem solving. national security are such that, they require pa- With a different sensitivity and approach than tience, understanding and help from relatives men, women can distinguish and identify finer and close people. For several years now, the and different details than men, which are applied intelligence and national security situation has to innovative and effective solutions of different changed, in terms of division of roles, and it is operational situations. no longer considered an exclusively male pro- The Service has taken important steps in this fession. direction, promoting and appointing ladies in Gradually, female colleagues have not only in- important leadership and managerial positions. creased in numbers within the Service, but have Currently, 25 % of the total number of employ- taken on more and more important responsi- ees are ladies and for the first time, we have 30 bilities and tasks, in prominent job positions. women in management positions, a number that For more than three years, the approach of the is twice as high compared to a few years ago. senior management team of SHISH has been However, much remains to be done, to spread focused not only on gender equality or positive this spirit in the regional units in the field, in or- discrimination against women, but on the cre- der to provide opportunities and combine lead- ation of equal opportunities for employment ership roles throughout the Service. We are aware and career. Supporting and promoting women of the difficulties of working in the field, in small in leadership positions has further improved towns and areas, where negative pressure, preju- the positive work environment that already ex- dice and other inherited elements of the society ists in our Service. can deter many women and girls to join the In addition to equal pay opportunities and ca- Service. But, the leadership vision reer advancement, women in leadership positions is for this process to continue, without hesitation and without prejudice, based on strategies and action plans, to enrich the Service with women and girls committed to becoming part of our mission. PUBLIC REPORT 2020 32

FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES OF SHISH

he State Intelligence Service, during During 2020, funds for goods and services 2020, has administered a budget in the are best managed to fulfill the needs of the op- Tamount of around 1.69 billion ALL, erational sector and to provide all the necessary compared to around 1.64 ALL last year. For work materials and services for the employees. the period 2017 to 2020, the budget trend is in- Important systems that contribute directly to creasing, thus facing the demands for increased the realization of the intelligence product are funding, in response to the sophisticated activi- also maintained. ties that violate national security. The investments for 2020 were realized in the Every year, most of the budget is spent on amount 43.651,000 ALL and were focused in salaries and insurance for the staff, as an im- the purchase of information technology equip- portant factor in motivating and absorbing the ment, to modernize them, purchase of vehicles most effective categories of human resources. as well as reconstruction and construction of Following the application of policies for pro- facilities under the administration of SHISH, in motion of human resources, in 2019, upon the order to create optimal working conditions for Decision of the Council of Ministers (DCM) the employees. No.259, date 24.04.2019, salaries in SHISH in- Objects damaged by the earthquake were creased around 17.7%. identified in 2020. All the necessary procedures were carried out to secure funds for their rehabilitation. This process was finalized with Decision of the Coun- cil of Ministers No.48, date 27.01.2021 “For the use of the reconstruction fund and the reconstruction/reinforcement of the facilities under the administration of SHISH, in the munici- palities of Durres and Lezha”.

Budget of SHISH over the years (in millions of Leks) 33 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

TERMINOLOGICAL DICTIONARY FOR SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE

n response to the current and future needs, The dictionary is a serious attempt to in- ISHISH has compiled and completed the clude terms and concepts in a single volume, first dictionary of “Security and Intelligence to consolidate and unify the language used in Terms”, in Albanian and English. The diction- verbal and written communications, by incor- ary contains words, terms and definitions used porating words, groups of words, terms and by our Service in daily work, in the administra- examples that find daily use in the analytical, tion of documents, in communications within practical, operational, technical and strategic the Service as well as in international coopera- aspects. tion with the partner secret intelligence services The dictionary will be used for the profes- and agencies. sional development of the Service employees The dic- and will be a useful guide for the newly tionary is recruited employees, to learn the terms compiled and the language of the tradecraft, used by a working by the security and intelligence com- group, made munity, the law-enforcement agen- up of em- cies and international partners. ployees of the The dictionary is accessible Service, on the to all employees of the Ser- basis of the ex- vice and we believe that it perience acquired will help them in carrying over the years, out the work. It will help international best familiarize the employees practices in the field with the contemporary, of security and intel- historical, national and ligence, the terminol- international termi- ogy used by partner nology used in the services and agencies, field of intelli- other similar dictionar- gence and secu- ies in the same field, ma- rity, to increase terials available on open professionalism sources and previous dic- and compatibil- tionaries compiled over ity with the best the years by our Service. practices of partner ser- The dictionary fills a gap vices and agencies. created over the years and The dictionary will first be used in is compiled in the Albanian- the structures of our Service, and then it will English version. For some be reviewed and sanitized from sensitive ele- words and terms, the work- ments which expose forms and methods of king group has given the work. After the removal of sensitive parts, the initial and the most general explanation and then dictionary will be made available to the senior provided more details, in the context of the lan- political leadership of our country, other se- guage used by security and intelligence agencies, curity and intelligence entities in Albania, and focusing directly on areas related to activities of partner intelligence services and agencies. SHISH. PUBLIC REPORT 2020 34

Some words and terms OF THE “LANGUAGE OF THE TRADEcraft” that can BE HELPFUL during the work

AGJENT I DYFISHTË DOUBLE AGENT 1. Agjent i dyfishtë është një person që rekru- 1. Double agent is a person recruited by tohet nga dy shërbime; fillimisht nga njëri e both sides; first by one side, then the other. më pas nga tjetri. Operacione të tilla janë ndër Most difficult operation to run. The ques- më të vështirat për t’u menaxhuar. Çështja e tion of loyalty will emerge as a primary fac- besnikërisë duhet të dalë në plan të parë kur tor when assessing the case 2. Agent in con- vlerëson situatën. 2. Agjent në kontakt me dy tact with two opposing intelligence services, shërbime sekrete kundërshtare, ku vetëm njëri only one of which is aware of the double është në dijeni të kontakteve të agjentit. 3. Një agent contact. 3. A person who pretends to person që pretendon se po spiunon një organi- spy on a target organization on behalf of zatë target për llogari të një organizate tjetër, an organization, but in fact is loyal to that por që në fakt është besnik i organizatës target. target organization.

CERTIFIKATË E SIGURIMIT TË PER- SECURITY CLEARANCE SONELIT It is a certificate issued by the competent CSP është një dokument zyrtar i Drejtorisë së national authority to show that relevant Sigurimit të Informacionit të Klasifikuar ose i background checks have been conducted një autoriteti kompetent të sigurisë së një vendi on the individual and he is granted access tjetër, i cili vërteton, nga pikëpamja e sigurisë, to classified information, to the level desig- se një individ i plotëson kushtet e përcaktuara nated in the document. për njohjen, ruajtjen, administrimin dhe trans- ferimin e informacionit të klasifikuar.

JOMIQËSOR NON-FRIENDLY 1. Që tregon mospëlqim dhe mungesë simpa- 1. Showing dislike and no sympathy. Ex: She tie. P.sh. Ajo gjithmonë sillet në mënyrë jo-miqësore always behaves in an unfriendly manner to me. 2. In me mua. 2. Në kuptimin e zbulimit dhe kundër- intelligence and counterintelligence use: The zbulimit: Termi jo-miqësor u referohet shërbi- term non-friendly refers to hostile foreign meve dhe agjencive të huaja me të cilët nuk ke partner services and agencies with which you marrëdhënie pune, të cilët punojnë dhe kry- do not have work relationships, who are con- ejnë operacione informative të fshehta kundër ducting clandestine intelligence operations interesave kombëtare të vendit. P.sh. Agjencitë against the national interest of the country. dhe shërbimet informative jo-mike janë objekt i punës Ex: Foreign, non-friendly intelligence agencies and ser- së Shërbimi tonë. vices are the target of our Service.

KRIM KIBERNETIK CYBER CRIME Ndërhyrje e paautorizuar drejt dhe/ose Unauthorized act of intrusion to and përmes përdorimit të teknologjisë së informa- through/or use of information and commu- cionit dhe komunikimit, veprim i cili ndësh- nication technology, an act that is punishable, kohet sipas Kodit Penal të Republikës së as prescribed in the Criminal Code of the Re- Shqipërisë. public of Albania. 35 STATE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

LIGJI I MËRFIT MURPHY’S LAW Nëse ka mundësi që diçka të shkojë keq, atëherë do të If there is a possibility for something to go wrong, it shkojë keq. E. A. Mërfi (1949). will go wrong. E.A. Murphy, Jr. (1949). Termi përdoret shpesh në fushën e inteligjen- This is term used a lot in the intelligence busi- cës. Gjatë procesit të planifikimit të operacione- ness. During the operational planning process, ve, inspektori duhet të planifikojë gjithçka me the Case-Officer must plan everything careful- kujdes, për të shmangur të papriturat e pakënd- ly to avoid unexpected, unpleasant surprises. shme. Siç thuhet në zanatin tonë, punët mund As the saying goes in our business, things may të shkojnë keq sepse Mërfi është gjithmonë aty. go wrong, because Murphy is always there.

MODUS OPERANDI (MO) MODUS OPERANDI (MO) Shprehje latinisht, që përkthehet “Mënyra e A Latin phrase, translated as “Method of Op- veprimit”. Termi përdoret për të përshkruar erating”. The term is used to describe a distinct një model apo metodë të dallueshme veprimi pattern or method of operating and function- dhe funksionimi, të konsideruar si karakteris- ning seen as characteristic or habitually fol- tike apo të zakonshme, që ndjek një individ lowed by an individual or an organization in- apo një organizatë e përfshirë në veprimtari volved in criminal or intelligence activity. In kriminale apo informative. Si në shqip, ashtu both English and Albanian, it is frequently edhe në anglisht, shkurtesa është MO. shortened to MO.

PRODUKT INFORMATIV INTELLIGENCE (AS A) PRODUCT 1. Ajo që përftohet nga grumbullimi, integ- 1. That which results from the collection, pro- rimi, analizimi, vlerësimi dhe interpretimi i të cessing, integration, analysis, evaluation, and in- dhënave informative të disponueshme. 2. In- terpretation of available information. 2. Timely, formacion në kohë, i saktë dhe i përdorshëm, accurate, and actionable (value-added) informa- veçanërisht për veprimet e kundërshtarëve të tion about what other nations or groups, es- mundshëm apo të vendeve jo-mike, i cili ndih- pecially potential adversaries, are doing which mon politikëbërësit dhe vendimmarrësit të helps policymakers, decision makers, and mili- kryejnë misionin e tyre të formulimit dhe im- tary leaders carry out their mission of formulat- plementimit të politikës së sigurisë kombëtare. ing and implementing national security policy.

SIGURI KOMBËTARE NATIONAL SECURITY Siguria kombëtare është identifikimi i të gjitha National security is the identification of all rreziqeve dhe kërcënimeve që mund t’i vijnë risks and threats that may come to a country, një vendi, në mënyrë të veçantë ato që kanë të especially those that have to do with the exer- bëjnë me ushtrimin e sovranitetit, mbrojtjen e cise sovereignty, protection of the independ- pavarësisë dhe integritetin territorial, të jetës ence and territorial integrity, life and property dhe pasurisë së popullatës, të vlerave kom- of the population, national values, constant bëtare, zhvillimit të qëndrueshëm ekonomik, economic development, sustainnability of qëndrueshmërisë së institucioneve shtetërore, state institutions, well-being of the popula- mirëqenies së popullsisë, përshirë mbrojtjen e tion, to include national defense and foreign vendit dhe marrëdhëniet me jashtë. P.sh. Shër- relations. For example: The State Intelligence Service bimi Informativ i Shtetit është një agjenci, detyra e së of Albania is an agency whose duty is the protection cilës është mbrojtja e sigurisë kombëtare. of national security. PUBLIC REPORT 2020 36

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AKSHI (NAIS) - National Agency for Information Society ALL - Albanian Lek COTS - Commercial off-the-shelf DCM - Decision of the Council of Ministers DISA - Defense Intelligence and Security Agency EU - European Union FATF - Financial Action Task Force FPS - Foreign Partner Servise FTF - Foreign Terrorist Fighters GDPML - General Directorate for the Prevention pf Money Laundering GSP - General State Police IACS (SHÇBA) - Internal Affairs and Complaints Service ICITAP - International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program ICT - Information and Communication Technologies IMO - International Monitoring Operation IQC - Independent Qualification Commission ISIL/DAESH - Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant IT&T - Information Technology and Telecommunications LPD - Local Police Department MEK - The People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization SHISH - State Intelligence Service OSCE - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe SPAK - Special Anti-Corruption Structure UNODC - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime USA - United States of America WB - Western Balkans WHO - World Health Organization

This document is property of SHISH. It is published to inform the general public on the activities of SHISH, and on the challenges and threats our country is facing. The document is public, and can be found in an electronic format at website www.shish.gov.al. The text and pictures can be used for research and information purposes, creditting the original source.

Contact: Tel: +355 69 4138387 Email: [email protected] Postal Address: Rruga “Kongresi i Manastirit”, Tirana, Albania www.shish.gov.al TIRANA - 2021

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