State activity directed against foreign intelligence services: identifying their operations, preventing them and countering them, including the protection of classified information.
In Poland, the tasks of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) include, among others, identifying, preventing and detecting the offences of espionage and unlawful disclosure of classified information.1
The British doctrine JDP 2-00 links counterintelligence with identifying threats from terrorism, espionage, sabotage, subversion and organised crime.2
US Air Force doctrine (AFDP 3-13) describes counterintelligence as information gathered and activities conducted to identify, deceive, exploit, disrupt or protect against espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage or assassinations conducted for or on behalf of foreign powers, organisations or persons, or international terrorism.3
Sources
- Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Act of 24 May 2002 on the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency, consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2024, item 812 (in Polish)
- UK Ministry of Defence, JDP 2-00 Intelligence, Counter-intelligence and Security Support to Joint Operations, Edition 4, August 2023
- US Air Force, AFDP 3-13 Information Operations: Information-Related Capabilities – Counterintelligence (updated 28.04.2016)
Checked: 3 November 2026