Agent/intelligent
officer: Usage
depends of the country. In the CIA and FBI, trained, intelligence
professionals are “agents.” Foreign nationals providing
information are “informants.”
In UK’s MI5 and MI6
intelligence professionals are “intelligence officers.” Foreign
nationals providing information are “agents” or, more formally,
“covert human intelligence sources.”
Agent in place: government employee who is supplying information to the other side instead of defecting, i.e., moving to another country.
Agent of influence (aka Fifth Columnists): agents connecting with high-ranking government officials, politicians, or business leaders to influence policy and behavior rather than gathering intelligence. In World War II, Canadian William Stephenson headed British Security Coordination operations in the United States to encourage the US to join England in war on Germany. Fifth Columnists was coined in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. The rebels had army four columns marching toward Madrid and a “fifth column” in Madrid ready to start fighting. Fifth column as agents of influence in an alternative definition.
Agent provocateur: person who infiltrates an organization to incite mischievous actions which, if successful, will get organizational members arrested. Sometimes mischievous actions are intended to distract attention from other operations.
Case Officer (controller, handler): intelligence officer who handles agents.
Courier: person who carries information between agents and their handlers.
Dangle: person deliberately deployed close to hostile agent in hopes the dangle will be recruited by the hostile agent. This procedure is called “coat-trailing.” The dangle becomes a double agent.
Decoys: People who act like agents to distract surveillance. Sometimes called cooptees.
Defector in place: person who continues to supply controllers with information rather than leave home country. Examples are Oleg Penkovsky and Adolf Tolkachev, who turned down opportunities to leave the Soviet Union and live in the United States.
Defector: Individuals who physically switch sides.
Discard: Arresting spy to attract attention away from another agent.
Double agent: person originally working for one intelligence services is turned and actually works for a second intelligence service by sending misleading information to the first intelligence service. During World War II, Germany sent many agents into Britain. These agents were caught. Some were shot. Some became double agents sending Germany misleading information supplied by British intelligence. Double agents should not be confused with penetration agents. The Cambridge Five, e.g., Kim Philby, were penetration agents, not double agents.
Escort: person assigned to lead defector through escape route.
False defector: person who pretends to defect to provide information to the other side.
Floater: person used one time for an intelligence operation.
Ghoul: person who search obituaries for identities agents can use.
Illegal: intelligence officer in foreign country who doesn’t have diplomatic immunity.
Mole: originally referred to penetration agents who intentionally bury themselves in hostile agencies to give secrets to the other side. Kim Philby is well-known example. Later the term was broadened to include agents who voluntarily start giving information to the other side. Aldrich Ames and Richard Hanssen are examples.
Musician: clandestine radio operator.
Notional agent: Imaginary agents created to deceive or misdirect hostile forces. In World War II, allies protected their ability to decode axis secret military communications by sending a congratulatory thank you and the promise of a bonus to a non-existent spy in Italy.
Penetration agent: person loyal to one intelligence services, but hired by another government. The agent remains loyal to the first intelligence service and spies on the second service. The Cambridge Five, e.g., Kim Philby, were loyal to the Soviet Union when they were hired by various British government agencies during World War II and after. Through their spying careers they sent information to the Soviet Union.
Raven: male who uses sexual favors to obtain information.
Rezident: KGB or GRU station chief in foreign location.
Sleeper: Agent living in foreign country who is currently inactive, but ready to begin activity when called upon.
Swallow: female who uses sexual favors to obtain information.
Triple
agent: person working for the first intelligence service pretends
to be turned by a second intelligence service, but actually remains
loyal to the first intelligence service. Misleading information goes
toward the second intelligence service. (The phrase “misleading
information” does not mean all information sent is false. The
majority of information would be true and verifiable to maintain the
double and triple agents’ credibility. The “misleading
information” would lie about something especially important.)
