What is the CIA?
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the United States federal government responsible for providing national security intelligence to the President, Cabinet, and Congress. The CIA is charged with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of HUMINT, as well as SIGINT, IMINT, and OSINT. Additionally, the CIA has limited law enforcement and counterintelligence capabilities.
Where Does the CIA Operate?
The CIA’s core mission is the collection and analysis of foreign intelligence, which the U.S. government needs to protect the nation, its interests, and its citizens. As such, the CIA is active in countries all over the world, gathering intelligence through a variety of methods and sources in order to enable decision-makers to make informed decisions. The scope of the CIA’s operational presence is vast, ranging from embassies, military bases and other locations with US personnel in the country to individuals recruited to be agents and spies abroad.
The CIA primarily works with covert agents and confidential informants, but it also participates in public diplomacy and public affairs activities, including overt intelligence gathering. Additionally, the CIA engages in covert action, which is any clandestine activity designed to influence a foreign government or population. These activities range from working with foreign allies to support counter-terrorism operations to providing support for anti-government uprisings and propaganda campaigns.
The CIA is prohibited by law from operating within the United States, but it can and does work with law enforcement agencies such as the FBI to gather intelligence on domestic targets. The CIA also works closely with other US intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
The CIA is active in more countries than any other US intelligence agency and its operations are conducted in a wide range of areas, including counter-terrorism, nuclear proliferation, foreign arms sales, drug trafficking, and cyber warfare. In addition to conducting operations overseas, the CIA also operates a vast network of spy satellites, reconnaissance aircraft and listening posts around the world to monitor communications and activity.
CIA Recruitment
The CIA hires agents and informants from a wide variety of backgrounds and nationalities. Case officers typically recruit people with specialized skills, such as language abilities, analytical or engineering expertise, or cultural knowledge. CIA officers also recruit individuals who have a trusted family or societal connection which can be leveraged to collect valuable information.
CIA recruiters screen potential candidates for mental, physical and emotional requirements, as well as factoring in operational considerations such as risk, loyalty, access to information and fit within the agency itself. In most cases, applicants must meet stringent citizenship, age and language requirements. Recruitment is a long and detailed process, and potential candidates must go through extensive background checks, tests and interviews in order to be considered.
The CIA also runs a variety of programs to encourage and cultivate contacts for possible recruitment. These programs include the National Resource Directory, which seeks to identify and develop relationships with foreign nationals; the Endowment for International Peace, which provides grants and scholarships to individuals who can contribute to foreign policy initiatives; and the Worldwide Exploitation of Resources program, which promotes economic, political and social development in foreign countries.
CIA Oversight
The CIA falls under the oversight of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees in Congress. These committees provide oversight on the CIA’s activities, and members can make requests for specific intelligence data. They also have the power to approve or reject proposed covert operations and the budget requests of the CIA.
The CIA is further subject to Executive Order 12333, signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. This order explicitly prohibits the CIA from conducting any operations on US citizens domestically or abroad, and requires the agency to comply with US laws and international treaties on human rights and civil liberties. The CIA is also subject to the procedures outlined in the 1947 National Security Act, which sets forth the roles, responsibilities and procedures of the agency.
The CIA is also subject to the Freedom of Information Act, which requires the agency to release specific intelligence data that it collects. The CIA is further subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, which requires the agency to protect certain individually-identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, from being disclosed without the individual’s consent.
CIA Strategies
The CIA is tasked with providing intelligence to the President and other decision-makers in order to develop informed policy decisions and craft effective strategies. To do this, the CIA employs a broad range of strategies, including using open-source intelligence, exploiting foreign intelligence services and establishing networks of assets and agents around the world.
The CIA also engages in psychological warfare to undermine an adversary’s will to resist, by spreading false information and manipulating media. The agency also relies on offensive and defensive counterintelligence, which includes the identification of foreign intelligence, evaluating the effectiveness of security measures, discovering and disrupting foreign espionage, and detecting and countering attempts to influence or sabotage US interests.
The CIA is also engaged in signals intelligence, which involves intercepting, decrypting and analyzing foreign communications, signals and radar emissions. The agency is also heavily involved in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and surveillance satellites to track targets and gather data.
CIA Counter-Terrorism
One of the CIA’s most visible activities is counter-terrorism, which involves the collection of intelligence and analysis in order to disrupt and prevent terror attacks. The CIA works with both overt and covert capabilities to identify and disrupt terrorist networks and their activities. This includes working with foreign intelligence agencies, foreign military forces, and US government and law enforcement agencies.
The CIA also conducts analysis of terrorist groups and individuals, and deploys assets to key regions in order to monitor activities and terrorist plots, as well as protecting critical infrastructure from possible attack. The agency also provides intelligence to support US military operations, has been instrumental in the capture and killing of terrorists, and has played a role in the development of strategies to combat terrorism.
CIA Cybersecurity
The CIA is increasingly focused on cybersecurity, as the threat of cyberattacks continues to grow. The agency’s mission in this regard is twofold: to collect and analyze intelligence regarding cybersecurity threats, and to develop offensive and defensive strategies to protect US networks, critical infrastructure, and other sensitive systems.
The CIA works with other US government agencies in order to develop offensive and defensive strategies to secure US networks and critical infrastructure, such as those related to energy, banking and financial services, communication, and transportation. The agency also works with foreign intelligence services to identify, monitor and counter cyber criminals and foreign cyber threats.
The CIA is also involved in developing and deploying cyber weapons to disrupt, exploit and destroy networks. Additionally, the agency maintains a database of cyber threat indicators and malware, which it shares with other US government agencies, industry and academic partners.
