counterintelligence

[ koun-ter-in-tel-i-juhns ]

noun

1. the activity of an intelligence service employed in thwarting the efforts of an enemy's intelligence agents to gather information or commit sabotage. : CI
2. an organization engaged in counterintelligence. : CI

counterintelligence

/ ˌkaʊntərɪnˈtɛlɪdʒəns /

noun

1. activities designed to frustrate enemy espionage
2. intelligence collected about enemy espionage

Word History and Origins

Origin of counterintelligence¹

First recorded in 1935–40; counter- + intelligence

Example Sentences

Although the program has become a top priority of US law enforcement and domestic counterintelligence efforts—and an unusual one, as the first country-specific initiative—many details have remained murky.

From MIT Technology Review

In practice, it’s unlikely, according to counterintelligence veterans.

From ProPublica

A senior counterintelligence official involved in the Russia inquiry, Jennifer Boone, told the inspector general that she recalled being told that Steele “may have gotten some of his information from a source other than” Danchenko.

From Washington Post

Prosecutors did not charge or identify them, as often happens in counterintelligence cases for strategic and diplomatic reasons.

From ProPublica

They take the fight to the enemy with both counterintelligence and advanced fighting skills, a rare combination for modern warriors.

From Time

Rõivas called the kidnapping of a counterintelligence official a serious crime “unacceptable to any Estonian.”

From The Daily Beast

“I have been a counterintelligence officer,” Alasania told The Daily Beast.

From The Daily Beast

Far from it, said David G. Major, the retired FBI counterintelligence agent.

From The Daily Beast

Few of the people in MI6 or MI5, the counterintelligence service, would divulge anything at all.

From The Daily Beast

The job of a counterintelligence officer and a field agent working for the CIA or the MI-6, their job is not to tell the truth.

From The Daily Beast