Editing Counterintelligence (section)

{{Short description|Offensive measures using enemy information}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=July 2020}}
{{how-to|date=July 2019}}
}}{{Intelligence}}[[File:Civilian Photo Technicians (in back of jeep) working for Counter Intelligence Corps, are accounted for by Captain... - NARA - 198977.tif|thumb|Civilian photo technicians (in back of jeep) working for Counter Intelligence Corps are accounted for at a [[Security checkpoint|checkpoint]] in [[Potsdam]], Germany, on July 14, 1945]]
'''Counterintelligence''' ('''counter-intelligence''') or '''counterespionage''' ('''counter-espionage''') is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's [[Intelligence agency|intelligence program]] from an opposition's intelligence service.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad: How to be a Counterintelligence Officer|last=Johnson|first=William|publisher=Georgetown University Press|year=2009|location=Washington DC|pages=2}}</ref> It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent [[espionage]], [[sabotage]], [[assassination]]s or other [[Intelligence field|intelligence]] activities conducted  by, for, or on behalf of foreign powers, organizations or persons.

Many countries will have multiple organizations focusing on a different aspect of counterintelligence, such as domestic, international, and counter-terrorism. Some states will formalize it as part of the [[police]] structure, such as the United States' [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI). Others will establish independent bodies, such as the United Kingdom's [[MI5]], others have both intelligence and counterintelligence grouped under the same agency, like the [[Canadian Security Intelligence Service]] (CSIS).