Agent: An individual (usually from a foreign country) who is targeted by the United States, recruited, and trained in the art of tradecraft so that they can provide their country’s secrets to the U.S. government.
Asset: A secret source or method. When someone refers to an asset, they are usually referring to an agent.
Bona fides: The proof an individual presents to show they are who they claim to be.
Brush pass: When a case officer and an agent exchange an item, generally by “brushing past” each other in a public place.
Burned: When a case officer’s or agent’s true identity is compromised.
Case officer: An individual employed by an American intelligence agency whose job is to target individuals (usually from foreign countries), recruit them, teach them tradecraft, and work with them as they provide secret information on behalf of the U.S. government.
Chief of station: The officer who runs a CIA station in a foreign city.
Clandestine operation: An operation meant to be run in secrecy, to be strictly enforced.
Compromised: When it is no longer possible for an agent to remain secret, or for an asset or agent to continue using their cover.
Concealment device: A small item with a secret compartment used to house information that needs to be transferred from one agent to another.
Counterintelligence: The work of keeping tabs on and upsetting the work of foreign intelligence agencies.
Cover: The identity that a case officer is living under while conducting an operation.
Cover stop: A location a case officer or agent would enter along a surveillance detection route (SDR), such as a store or restaurant, to give the impression to those following him that he is behaving normally.
Covert operation: A secret operation undertaken by a government against a foreign state. Such operations are planned and executed in a manner that any participation by the government perpetrating them will be denied.
Dead drop: A location where a concealment device is left by one agent for another to retrieve.
HUMINT: Intelligence that is collected from human sources.
Hunker-down site: A location, usually predetermined by an agent, where he can hide safely until a perceived threat has passed.
Intrusion point: A location that an agent who believes he is under surveillance can enter in order to lead the individual to follow the agent inside.
Krypto: An alias used by a case officer or agent.
Legal traveler: An individual who may have citizenship or the legal right to reside in one country, while holding a passport or visa that enables him to easily travel to another country.
Narco-terrorist: A drug dealer or drug king known for inflicting terrible abuse on those who work with him.
Safe house: Any hotel room, apartment, or house that is deemed “safe” by intelligence officers. It may be used to hold clandestine meetings or to house agents during an operation.
Signal: A secret method of communication used between an agent and a case officer, often to indicate to each other that a preplanned meeting should or should not take place.
Surveillance detection route (SDR): A route, which could be short or even hours or days long, that a case officer or agent takes to ensure that he himself is not under surveillance.