Counterintelligence as a tool for protecting the state and society

Abstract

The basic role of the state is to satisfy the primary human need, namely the need for security. To this end, it uses a number of instruments of a diverse nature, and counterintelligence is one of them. The scope of counterintelligence services has gradually expanded over time and currently includes not only counteracting hostile intelligence (sometimes also allied intelligence) but also combating organized crime (especially international), preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, combating terrorism (including cyberterrorism), controlling economic turnover in the field of dual-use technologies, combating individuals and groups seeking to overthrow the prevailing political order by force, combating extremism, cryptology, securing government communications, and finally protecting one's own intelligence operations. Counterintelligence is a kind of alter ego of intelligence, it is, as it were, the other side of the same coin. Adding the prefix kontr makes the basic word its opposite. Counterintelligence, unlike intelligence, which is supposed to obtain necessary information, protects it and ensures its safety. It is worth remembering, however, that counterintelligence is not only a defensive form of action, there is also offensive counterintelligence. Its aim, is to control the actions of the opponent, to manipulate them and influence them, to obtain information about the modus operandi the opponent, his contacts, interests, goals, state of knowledge. Therefore, counterintelligence should be referred to collecting information and taking actions to protect against espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage or contract killings. Modern counterintelligence services face a number of new challenges, which are primarily related to the development of new ICT technologies, social media, and systems based on artificial intelligence, including machine espionage. They can be used to disrupt the electoral process, cause social unrest or even revolution (color revolutions), spread disinformation through fake news or using deep technology fake. Since modern societies are information societies, they are highly susceptible to information attacks aimed at persuading them to behave in a specific way, e.g. to vote for a specific candidate or protest against the policy of a given government. Modern information techniques allow for the manipulation of images and sounds, and thus enable the publication of false information, processed, manipulated to achieve a specific goal of information warfare. An example here is the deepfake technology, which, through ultra-realistic video materials, can change the perception of a given person in the public consciousness and influence the outcome of elections. Based on the above comments, it can be stated that today's counterintelligence, in addition to traditional challenges related to the protection and protection of its own systems and information resources, as well as an active form of counteracting espionage, must keep up with the development of new ICT technologies, social media, and systems based on artificial intelligence. Petrification in this area may lead to a decrease in its effectiveness, and consequently also to inefficiency and serious perturbations in the sphere of security.