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Intelligence officer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organisation to collect, compile and analyse information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organisation. Organisations which employ intelligence officers include armed forces, police, civilian intelligence agencies and customs agencies.
The actual role carried out by an intelligence officer varies depending on the remit of his/her parent organisation. Officers of foreign intelligence agencies (e.g. the United States' Central Intelligence Agency or the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6)) may spend much of their careers abroad and/or be involved in espionage. Officers of domestic intelligence agencies (such as the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation or the UK's Security Service (MI5)) are responsible for counter-terrorism, counter-espionage, counter-proliferation and the detection and prevention of serious organised crime within their own countries.
Responsibilities which are common to most intelligence officers include compiling and analysing intelligence to determine the identities, intentions, capabilities and activities of hostile individuals or groups, and planning and/or enacting the necessary steps to disrupt or prevent such activities.
Intelligence officers make use of a variety of sources of information, including
- Open source information (e.g. internet, libraries, newspapers, etc.)
- Eavesdropping or telephone tapping
- Interception of communications (signals intelligence)
- Surveillance
- Covert human intelligence sources (agents or moles)
- Co-operation and sharing of information with other intelligence agencies
A field intelligence officer is responsible for recruiting and "running" agents or moles in foreign countries. Valerie Plame Wilson was a CIA field intelligence officer. She was a covert officer with "non-official cover", so she was not protected by diplomatic immunity.