Glossary of Terms - Index A

People in the business of espionage do not talk like normal folks! We have a special vocabulary of terms that have meaning only to those on the inside of this business. Over the next few months many of these terms will be posted here. Some you probably already know from reading spy novels and watching spy movies. We will start with the letter A and work our way through the alphabet. I hope you find these interesting.

Access Agent – An agent used primarily as a spotter of targets of interest to the CIA. The access agent will also provide avenues to help assess and vet other development contacts for his Case Officer. The access agent may also help provide physical access to a target such as a room, building, computer, and telephone where the CIA may plant a technical operation. Access agents primarily provide operational information rather than intelligence information.

Accommodation Address (AA) – Also called a mail drop, an AA is a cutout device used to receive mail. The mail may be held for pickup or forwarded to another location. The AA provides a layer of security between an agent and Case Officer and is often used in the communications arrangements in agent operations.

Agent – The human instrument of espionage. A fully vetted and recruited foreign person working wittingly or unwittingly for the CIA providing intelligence and operational information on his government, organization, company or personnel. The CIA likes to think that these persons are “under control” of the CIA but this is often not the case. An agent is assigned to a Case Officer who is responsible for administration of the operation. Administration includes meeting with the agent for debriefings on intelligence and operational information, training, providing moral, technical, financial and other support to the agent, and tasking the agent with intelligence requirements. From these agent meetings, the Case Officer then produces operational cables and intelligence reports for CIA Headquarters.

Agent handler - One of the duties of a Case Officer is to “handle” his agent, i.e. to supervise, direct, train, debrief and task his agents in the process of espionage.

Agent recruitment - The act of convincing a potential agent to enter into a special relationship with the CIA whereby he acts as an agent under the control, guidance or influence of his Case Officer in the conduct of espionage. The agent usually, but not necessarily, knows he is in contact with the CIA. Such an agent is called a witting agent or witting asset. Agents who do not know of the CIA affiliation of their Case Officer are unwitting agents or unwitting assets. A recruitment attempt is done only after a concerted period of assessment, vetting and development by one or more Case Officers. An agent’s motivation and vulnerability are key factors determined during this period that are then used to tailor a recruitment pitch to ensure that the agent will enter into a relationship.

Alias – This is not the same as Pseudonym noted later in the glossary. An alias is a name usually created by the Case Officer to use with his operations. He may keep the alias for extensive period to develop an asset or he may us it for a few occasions, and then discards it. Aliases are used under some form of cover and backstopping. Throwaway aliases are used only once or twice, then never used again and are considered to be compromised. Throwaway aliases usually do not have backstopping since their short use period does not warrant the potential exposure of a the backstopped facility in the event the alias itself is compromised to a hostile security service.

Ambush – This is the arrest or a Case Officer or agent during the act of espionage by a hostile security service. The term rolled-up has the same meaning but also includes technical operations as well as human agent operations.

Amicable Termination – Often when the CIA no longer finds value in the services of an agent but the agent has had an honorable and mutually beneficial relationship with the CIA, he still must be let go – terminated. When the termination goes smoothly and the agent fully understands and accepts the reason for the discharge, it is said to be an amicable termination. Usually when an agent is amicably terminated he is provided with re-contact instructions should his situation change and he establishes access to information of interest to the CIA.

Assessment – The process of judging and evaluating the intelligence value of a potential target. The continually ongoing process of studying a target to determine his access to information of interest to the CIA and understanding the motivation and vulnerabilities that can be used to gain his cooperation. Assessment is an art, not an exact science. Assessment takes some length of time, months or even years, to determine precisely the motivations that drive a person and the vulnerabilities that can be used to control, influence or guide a person to cooperate. The CIA often employs many assessment tools to assist the Case Officer to better understand his target. For example, psychological tests may be directly or indirectly administered as another assessment tool. Most often, however, it is the Case Officer’s personal evaluation from recurring contact with the target that provides the most useful assessment. See Recruitment Cycle.

Asset – An instrument of espionage, most often a person (agent) but can be other means and methods of collection of intelligence and operational information. A concealed microphone in an office (called audio operation) is a type of asset. Not all assets are engaged in the direct collection of information. Some are support assets who provide specific services in support of intelligence activities. For example a safehouse keeper is a type of support asset. Other support assets perform services such as loading and unloading dead drops, act as cutouts, perform surveillance and counter-surveillance, etc.

Authentication - The act of investigating a potential or recruited agent to determine whether he is or is not under hostile control of a foreign intelligence or security service directed against the CIA. The authentication process also attempts to determine whether or not the agent is in some way deceiving the CIA in his reporting and operational activities for whatever personal or political reasons. The process also determines the claimed access the agent has to information of intelligence interest to the CIA. Intelligence and operational information provided by agents who have been “authenticated” is given a higher credibility than information from agents who have not yet been authenticated. The several points necessary to the authentication process include proving the agent is who he claims to be, that he has access to the information he reports, that he reports the information accurately and truthfully and that the agent is not under hostile control (i.e. not a double agent).