Disinformation that cannot be traced to its source and that the source can deny.
Definition based on the International Spy Museum glossary, which describes it as a form of disinformation – which the CIA glossary in turn describes as false information spread deliberately. Closely related is a false flag – according to the CIA glossary, an operation designed to look like the work of someone other than the real perpetrator.1,2
An officially attributed example: in a statement of 19 October 2020 the UK government said that a GRU cyber unit (GTsST), during its attack on the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, had tried to pass itself off as North Korean and Chinese hackers.3
Under Polish law, conducting disinformation on behalf of a foreign intelligence service has been a separate offence since 1 October 2023, under Article 130 § 9 of the Penal Code (see disinformation and FIMI).4
Sources
- International Spy Museum (Washington, DC), Language of Espionage (glossary)
- CIA, Spy Speak Glossary
- UK Government (FCDO), UK exposes series of Russian cyber attacks against Olympic and Paralympic Games (press release), 19.10.2020
- Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Act of 17 August 2023 amending the Penal Code and certain other acts, Journal of Laws 2023, item 1834 (new wording of Article 130) (in Polish)
Checked: 4 November 2026