The Norwegian Defence Security Department (NORDSD) (in Norwegian: Forsvarets sikkerhetsavdeling, acronym: FSA) is a joint

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

and counter-intelligence military intelligence service within the Norwegian Armed Forces. Its members are a mix of civilian employees and military personnel. The head of the service holds the military rank Colonel or (naval)

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Role and responsibility

NORDSD's primary responsibility is protective security and operative security services within the Armed Forces, including responsibilities related to the Norwegian Armed Forces security intelligence. NORDSD shall, on behalf of the Chief of Defence, Norwegian Armed Forces (CHODNOR):CHODNOR Security Directive (text in Norwegian)
/ref>CO NORDSD Directive (text in Norwegian)
/ref> *Counteract security threats, and threats associated with espionage, sabotage and terrorist acts that may affect military activities and/or

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 ...

. *Conduct background checks, (the vetting process) to determine if security clearance can be given to military personnel who apply for access to classified information. *Act as the Designated Security Authority in Norway for the "request for visit" system, by controlling both visits of foreign nationals to the Norwegian Armed Forces or Norwegian defence industry, and issue Norwegian citizens with a certificate of security clearance when visiting other nations where valid security clearance is required. *Liaise with the Norwegian Police Security Service in cases that involve the Armed Forces. NORDSD does this by collecting and assessing information regarding security risks and weaknesses within the Norwegian Armed Forces, to analyze and recommend which counter-measures must be taken. NORDSD is the largest security clearance (vetting) authority in Norway and handles approximately 20,000 security clearance cases annually.

Rule of law and legal mandate

Within any democratic and transparent nation, the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

and Rechtsstaat principle of regulating

executive powers The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...

is fundamental. The Norwegian Constitution, Article 99, forbids the use of military personnel and powers against the citizens unless warranted by act of parliament or insurrection. Article 110c forbids any executive action that is a violation of human rights. Only the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), the

Norwegian Intelligence Service The Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) or Etterretningstjenesten (E-tjenesten) is a Norwegian military intelligence agency under the Chief of Defence and the Ministry of Defence. History Olav Njølstad says that the "stay-behind cooperation ...

(ETJ) and the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM) are defined as "secret services" and given special executive authority by separate acts of parliament. Since no special executive authority is given, the

principle strongly limits NORDSD to only operate within the Armed Forces. Therefore, all actions or counter-measures must have a legal basis in: # The general provisions of the Protective Security Act, The Defence Secrets Act, The Military Criminal Justice Act and the Military Police powers act. # Common law / Chain of command authority within the Norwegian Armed Forces # International treaties/agreements concerning military security regulation through Norway's membership of NATO.

Oversight

As a result of lessons learned by the surveillance scandals after the end of the Cold War, several fail-safe mechanisms are in place to prevent future breaches of human rights and illegal surveillance. NORDSD is under the direct oversight of the legislative and executive branches in Norway. The legislative branch exercises its control through the

Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee Parliament's Intelligence Oversight Committee ( no, Stortingets kontrollutvalg for etterretnings-, overvåkings- og sikkerhetstjeneste), commonly known as the EOS Committee ( no, EOS-utvalget) is Norway's body responsible for supervising public int ...

, (EOS-committee), which is an independent watch-dog that has monitored NORDSD activities since 2003. The service was elevated to be one of the 'main inspection objects' (the Norwegian secret services are the others), in 2009. In all of the EOS committee's annual reports to the

Stortinget The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...

(the Norwegian Parliament), all deviation from what the committee deems to be good standards has, with the rule of law or human rights, been exposed and correctly criticized. These reports are available to the public on the EOS-committee website. The

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

exercises its control through different means: *By controlling measures pursuant to the Protective Security Act in the Armed Forces, also in matters of personnel security to ensure uniform interpretation of the Act. NORDSD is under the supervisory authority of the Norwegian National Security Authority. *Political control which is exercised through civilian control of the military through the Minister of Defence, and the principle of accountability in the Parliamentary system. *The chain of command which is exercised through the CHODNOR, his Chief-of-staff and the CHODNOR auditory unit, and is responsible to regularly brief the Minister of Defence on NORDSD activities. *The judicial branch exercises indirect control of NORDSD in these cases' legal actionsCriminal Procedure Act
/ref> brought against persons by the service or if a corporate charge is brought against NORDSD or its personnel.

Insignia

NORDSD insignia is constructed in accordance with Norwegian and continental heraldic rules and tradition; it was approved by the Chief of Defence, Norwegian Armed Forces (CHODNOR) in 2003. The insignia symbolism is as follows: # The crown is, in Norway, the symbol of the

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

and the

of the state. # The basis

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

colour is green. This stems from World War II when the exiled Norwegian Armed Forces in the United Kingdom adopted the British Army's patterns to indicate rank and service branch. Green was the service branch colour for the intelligence and

service (this is seen today in the UK's army Intelligence Corps beret and

stable belt A stable belt is a striped coloured belt worn at times by the armed forces of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries – and a few other countries such as Denmark, Brazil and Lebanon. The stripes identify and vary by regiment and corps ...

colour which is

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

green). # The silver key represents access to knowledge that is the

property and must be protected. # The lion figure is based on the Coat of arms of Norway. It represents strength and determination to protect and guard the nation and its firm hold on the key, affirms the

loyalty Loyalty, in general use, is a devotion and faithfulness to a nation, cause, philosophy, country, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another h ...

to protect the

property. Since NORDSD is not a part of the Norwegian Army lifeguard division ((this role is filled by His Majesty the King's Guards (HMKG) and the Military Academy (KS) - Linderud)), the standard gold colour is used.

References

{{authority control Military of Norway Norwegian intelligence agencies Government of Norway Counterintelligence agencies Military intelligence agencies