The Intelligence Branch (IB) division of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) handles all intelligence functions, including
information sharing
Information exchange or information sharing means that people or other entities pass information from one to another. This could be done electronically or through certain systems. These are terms that can either refer to bidirectional ''informa ...
policies and
intelligence analysis
Intelligence analysis is the application of individual and collective cognitive methods to weigh data and test hypotheses within a secret socio-cultural context. The descriptions are drawn from what may only be available in the form of deliberate ...
for
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
,
homeland security
Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
, and
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
purposes. The IB operates through the use of embedded intelligence strategies.
The Intelligence Branch consists of language analysts, physical surveillance specialists, and FBI agents. The IB also oversees field intelligence operations through Field Intelligence Groups (FIGs), housed within various localized offices.
Leadership
The Intelligence Branch of the FBI is headed by the executive assistant director for Intelligence Branch. The current executive assistant director is Ryan T. Young, appointed to the position in December 2021.
[
]
History
The operations of the FBI have significantly expanded and streamlined in the 21st century. The Intelligence Branch, as a distinct entity, came about in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001. Intelligence analysis became a critical focus for national security efforts, and the FBI Counterterrorism Division
The Counterterrorism Division (CTD) is a division of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. CTD investigates terrorist threats inside the United States, provides information on terrorists outside the country, and t ...
(CTD) soon evolved to include an Office of Intelligence (within CTD) in 2002. The 9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", includin ...
recommended strengthening efforts to recognize the role intelligence played within the FBI's structure. Following the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) is a 235-page Act of Congress, signed by President George W. Bush, that broadly affects United States federal terrorism laws. The act comprises several separate titles with var ...
being passed, United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...
ordered action on the development of an intelligence unit that would operate independently from the CTD. The Intelligence Branch was formally established in 2005. The IB, along with the CTD, the FBI Counterintelligence Division
The Counterintelligence Division (CD) is a division of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The division protects the United States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage. It accomplishes its miss ...
, and the FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD) is a division of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. WMDD addresses and investigates emerging threats the United States faces from the use of weapons of mass de ...
, became part of the newly established FBI National Security Branch
The National Security Branch (NSB) is a service within the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NSB is responsible for protecting the United States from weapons of mass destruction, acts of terrorism, and foreign intelligence operations and e ...
in 2006. As of 2014, the IB is no longer part of NSB and now operates as a department of the FBI.FBI Organizational Chart
Federal Bureau of Investigation, July 15, 2014
Organization
*
FBI Directorate of Intelligence
The Intelligence Branch (IB) division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) handles all intelligence functions, including information sharing policies and intelligence analysis for national security, homeland security, and law enforcemen ...
** Analysis and Strategic Issues Branch
** Intelligence Operations Branch
** Intelligence Services Branch
*FBI Office of Private Sector
*FBI Office of Partner Engagement
See also
*
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
*
Federal Criminal Office (Germany)
The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (in German: ', abbreviated ') is the federal investigative police agency of Germany, directly subordinated to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. It is headquartered in Wiesbaden, Hesse, and mai ...
*
MI5
The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
*
Counter Terrorism Command
Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and Special Bran ...
(SO15)
*
Direction de la surveillance du territoire
The Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST; en, Directorate of Territorial Surveillance) was a directorate of the French National Police operating as a domestic intelligence agency. It was responsible for counterespionage, counterterr ...
(DST)
*
General Commissariat of Information
The General Commissariat of Information (, CGI) is an intelligence service within the National Police Corps of Spain responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitatio ...
(CGI)
*
Civil Guard Information Service
The Civil Guard Information Service (, SIGC) is an intelligence service within the Spanish Civil Guard responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitation or operation ...
(SIGC)
*
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
References
External links
*
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Intelligence analysis agencies
United States intelligence agencies
{{US-law-enforcement-agency-stub