Human intelligence

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As Human Intelligence ( HUMINT ; German  "human intelligence" ) the recovery of, correction human sources , respectively. In a narrower sense, the term is limited to the activity of intelligence services ; in a broader sense, it also includes conversations by journalists, interviews and interrogations by public prosecutors and the police, as well as " conversation reconnaissance ", particularly by field intelligence officers, as part of military intelligence gathering . In addition to the collection and evaluation of information from open sources ( OSINT ), telecommunication and electronic reconnaissance and imaging reconnaissance, HUMINT is one of the four "classic" intelligence services .

Intelligence services

The human source as agent , spy , undercover agent , spy , informer , unofficial collaborator ( Stasi of the GDR ) or intelligence compound ( BND called). Usually it is a private person whose regular, long-term collaboration with a third party intelligence service is not known (see Section 9b (1) sentence 1 BVerfSchG ). It is usually led and controlled by a command officer . This is also referred to as a liaison leader or undercover leader. The sources receive their orders from their commanding officer, usually the procurement of particularly sensitive information such as classified information or other state secrets . They passed the information to the command officer or a courier, or gave it orally.

Informants offer information to an intelligence service in individual cases or occasionally and without being asked, without being led by them and receiving orders.

People with access to interesting information are important to any intelligence agency. Managing people with access to interesting information is considered the “supreme discipline” of intelligence work. It is often associated with high personal risk for both the officer in charge and the source.

The classic phases in the HUMINT area are research, advertising, source management and shutdown.

In the United States , the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is responsible for obtaining information from human sources as part of civilian overseas reconnaissance , while the National Security Agency (NSA) is responsible for telecommunications and electronic reconnaissance .

motivation

Classic motives for cooperation in the intelligence service are money , ideological conviction (including patriotism or religious foundation), blackmail or other personal motives (such as sympathy or friendship with or love for the officer in charge, dissatisfaction at the workplace or boredom, which is encountered with a supposedly exciting intelligence service becomes). In addition to a single factor, several motives can also occur in combination. The motifs mentioned are also referred to as "MICE" (Money, Ideology, Coercion, Ego) in English.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b What makes us special - intelligence services are allowed to do what others are prohibited from doing: spying. In: Federal Intelligence Service . Retrieved November 15, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Answer of the federal government to the small question - State premiums for informants and the notification and tax liability. (PDF) In: German Bundestag . Retrieved November 15, 2019 .
  3. ↑ "In 20 years I had ten identities." - Sebastian W. (57) on his time as a liaison leader. In: Federal Intelligence Service . Retrieved November 15, 2019 .
  4. ↑ The V-Mann-Führer. In: Focus . 2013, accessed November 15, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Glossary - Informant. In: verfassungsschutz.de. Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution , accessed on November 15, 2019 .