Abwehr | German military intelligence, 1920–45 |
active measures | Black propaganda, dirty tricks |
agent | Individual who performs intelligence assignments for an intelligence agency without being an officer or staff member of that agency |
agent of influence | An agent who is able to influence policy decisions |
ARCOS | All Russian Co-operative Society, London, 1920–7 |
asset | A source of human intelligence |
BSA | Birmingham Small Arms Company |
C | Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service |
case officer | An officer of an intelligence agency responsible for operating a particular agent or asset |
Cheka | Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage, USSR, 1917–22 |
CIA | Central Intelligence Agency, USA, 1947– |
CID | Committee of Imperial Defence, London, 1902–39 |
CIGS | Chief of the Imperial General Staff, London, 1909–64 |
Comintern | Third Communist International, USSR, 1919–43 |
CPGB | Communist Party of Great Britain, 1920–91 |
CPUSA | Communist Party of the United States of America, 1921– |
cut-out | The intermediary communicating secret information between the provider and recipient of illicit information; knowing the source and destination of the transmitted information, but ignorant of the identities of other persons involved in the spying network |
dead drop | Prearranged location where an agent, asset or case officer may leave material for collection |
double agent | Agent cooperating with the intelligence service of one nation state while also working for and controlled by the intelligence or security service of another nation state |
DPP | Directorate of Public Prosecutions, UK |
DSO | Defence Security Officer, MI5 |
FBI | Federal Bureau of Investigation, US law enforcement agency, 1908– |
FCO | Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 1968– |
FO | Foreign Office |
Fourth Department | Soviet military intelligence, known as the Fourth Department of the Red Army’s General Staff, 1926–42 |
Friend | Source |
GC&CS | Government Code & Cypher School, 1919–46 |
GCHQ | Government Communications Headquarters, 1946– |
GPU | State Political Directorate, USSR, 1922–3 |
GRU | Soviet military intelligence, 1942–92 |
HUAC | House Un-American Activities Committee, USA, 1938–69 |
HUMINT | human intelligence |
illegal | Officer of an intelligence service without any official connection to the nation for whom he is working; usually with false documentation |
INO | foreign section of Cheka and its successor bodies, USSR, 1920–41 |
intelligence agent | An outside individual who is used by an intelligence service to supply information or to gain access to a target |
intelligence officer | A trained individual who is formally employed in the hierarchy of an intelligence agency, whether serving at home or abroad |
legal | Intelligence officer serving abroad as an official or semi-official representative of his home country |
MGB | Ministry for State Security, USSR, 1946–53 |
MVD | Ministry of Internal Affairs, USSR, 1953–4 (as secret police) |
negative vetting | background checks on an individual before offering her or him a government job |
NKGB | People’s Commissariat of State Security, February–July 1941 and 1943–6 |
NKVD | People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (responsible for state security of Soviet Union 1934–February 1941 and July 1941 to 1943) |
NUPPO | National Union of Police and Prison Officers, 1913–20 |
OGPU | Combined State Political Directorate, USSR, 1923–34 |
OSINT | open source intelligence |
OSS | Office of Strategic Services, Washington, 1942–5 |
PCO | Passport Control Officer: cover for SIS officers in British embassies and legations |
positive vetting (PV) | The exhaustive checking of an individual’s background, political affiliations, personal life and character in order to measure their suitability for access to confidential material |
principal | Intelligence officer directly responsible for running an agent or asset |
protective security | Security to protect personnel, buildings, documents, communications etc. involved in classified material |
PUS | Permanent Under Secretary |
PWE | Political Warfare Executive, UK |
rezident | Chief of a Soviet Russian intelligence station, with supervisory control over subordinate intelligence personnel |
rezidentura | Soviet Russian intelligence station |
ROP | Russian Oil Products Limited |
SIGINT | Intelligence from intercepted foreign signals and communications. Human intervention is needed to turn the raw product into useful intelligence |
SIME | Security Intelligence Middle East |
SIS | Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), 1909– |
SS | Security Service (MI5, under which name it was founded in 1909), 1931– |
tradecraft | Acquired techniques of espionage and counterintelligence |
vorón | Literally ‘raven’: a male Russian operative used for sexual seduction |