The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are responsible for many important tasks necessary to keep America and its citizens safe. However, perhaps the most important job of the FBI and its agents is counterintelligence.In a world where technology advances at the speed of light, new threats arise every day. Foreign governments and individual actors seek to acquire government secrets and information about major technological systems, and it is the job of the FBI counterintelligence division to combat these threats. If you’re interested in a career with the FBI and have the necessary skills, you can work in counterintelligence to keep our government’s secrets safe.
Counterintelligence Responsibilities
One of the primary tasks of working in counterintelligence is to prevent terrorists and other unscrupulous nations, networks and individuals from stealing state secrets, particulars those related to the country’s weapons system. Because foreign agents will use a wide variety of tools, like blackmail and hacking, to get this information, an FBI counterintelligence agent must be familiar with a range of espionage techniques.
The counterintelligence division of the FBI is constantly seeking both their offensive and defensive capabilities, often working with academic and private institutions to improve their ability to both defend America’s information systems from common threats and to acquire information from foreign governments.
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Tasks of a Counterintelligence Agent
When you’re employed as a counterintelligence agent with the FBI, there will be many tasks that you will be responsible for. In addition to common informational tasks, such as monitoring foreign governments hostile American interests, counterintelligence agents also must routinely pursue and apprehend spies seeking to do harm to the country, as well as American citizens who have committed treason.
Counterintelligence Specialties and Units
- Counterespionage – While every career with the FBI is important, counterespionage is one of the most vital to the continued safety and health of the country. If you’re interested in becoming an FBI agent and have the requisite skills, you can work in counterespionage and prevent serious harm from befalling the nation.
- Strategy and Domain Section – The focus of the FBI Strategy and Domain Section is to fight intelligence terrorism in whatever way possible, including developing and employing the latest, most effective security technology.
- Economic Espionage Unit – Combatting economic espionage is one of the main focuses of the FBI, and the Bureau works with industries both large and small to protect them from economic losses and harm perpetrated by foreign governments and other entities.
- Counterproliferation Center – To combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the FBI established the Counterproliferation Center (CPC) in 2011.
As a counterintelligence agent, you will also work to secure the country’s most important systems. FBI agents working in counterintelligence can make sure that weapons technology is secure, that other agents aren’t leaking secrets and can work to infiltrate foreign governments to acquire information and to detect potential threats to the American government.
Economics
Many people assume that the FBI counterintelligence division is solely concerned with combatting threats to government systems. Although this is one of the primary functions of the counterintelligence division, agents in this section of the FBI also work to ensure the stability of the country’s economic systems. This is mostly done through protecting the intellectual property of American citizens and businesses.
Piracy of movies, music, books and other intellectual property poses a risk to the economic health of the country and sometimes the safety of American consumers. The FBI counterintelligence division is vigilant about fighting this piracy in multiple ways, including tracking pirates and stopping the methods they use to steal intellectual property.
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Work in Counterintelligence
Anyone interested in a career as an FBI agent and is concerned with protecting the country and its people from a wide range of threat should consider a career in counterintelligence. Working in the counterintelligence division of the FBI means fighting attacks from foreign governments, terrorists, hostile agents and other actors seeking to breach America’s informational security.
When new threats arise, it is the FBI counterintelligence agents’ job to fight them and to maintain the security of the nation.