Soviet term for deception operations designed to influence behaviour or opinion in the target country. Methods range from media manipulation and use of front organisations, support for paramilitaries and guerrillas, kidnapping, and even assassination.

An agent embedded in a strategic position and able to pass on useful information.

Breaking into someone’s home or business premises in order to acquire compromising information or to place surveillance equipment.

Unforeseen and undesirable results from a covert operation, rebounding on the originating agency with possible negative impacts on the security of networks or operations.

Momentary physical encounter between agents and handlers in a neutral location to exchange a verbal message or to hand over materials.

Used to expose a leak by planting different versions of sensitive information with suspects and seeing from the response of the target organisation which one has been passed on.

Genuine but ultimately harmless classified information fed to a prospective double agent in order to establish his credentials as a valuable informant with a hostile service.

Specialist forger skilled in creating false passports, visas or other documents.

Agent used as a go-between to keep an espionage network compartmentalised and to maintain security. An essential tool of intelligence, designed to minimise the number of people “in the loop”. Sometimes used simply to describe someone used as a pawn.

Spy posing as an informant or defector, who surreptitiously collects intelligence or supplies disinformation to a target agency. Sent by his or her own country to approach a hostile intelligence agency abroad in the hope of being recruited in order to work as a double agent.