Spies & Spying Personality Profiling: Intelligence and Counterintelligence Analysts

From The Psychology of Spies and Spying by Adrian Furnham and John Taylor.

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INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS‍

Intelligence Analysts write reports for various readers that provide them with insights and assessments on a specific topic or person. 

Will a country soon be overturned by an insurrection? Will country A invade country B? How sick really is the President of Y country? What is the background of the head of the military in country Z?

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Spies & Spying: Intelligence Analysts

Many specialize on a very specific subject and develop considerable knowledge and expertise. To do this they collect information and data from a variety of sources, secret and overt.

They assess the validity of the information and find patterns and links, which will add to the significance of their report. They identify gaps in knowledge which provide direction for intelligence gatherers.

The work of an Analyst is central in the world of espionage. They must evaluate and process secret information and the source as well as produce accurate, concise, and well-written reports. 

They are often called on to give oral presentations to very senior people. Policymakers turn to Analysts for the data on which to base their decisions. They often have the ear of the powerful.

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Spies & Spying: Intelligence Analyst psychological profile notes 

They need to be clever with higher-than-average analytical ability, often associated with computer skills. They need to be curious, inquisitive, and eager to keep up-to-date.

They also must be hard-working, well-organized, very careful and detail-oriented, and they have to avoid bias.

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Spies & Spying: Intelligence Analyst essentials

And the three essentials for an Intelligence Analyst are:

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Spies & Spying: Intelligence Analysts in fiction and film

One of the greatest analysts to emerge from the intelligence world is Richards Heuer. His seminal work Psychology of Intelligence Analysis (2018) is among the best. In the UK, David Omand’s How Spies Think (2020) is rapidly becoming a textbook for the Intelligence Analyst.

In fiction, Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy’s novels is described as an Analyst, best portrayed in the opening scenes of The Hunt for Red October (2010); in effect, he is as much a Special Forces officer as an Analyst. 

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COUNTERINTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS‍

While intellect is an essential quality for both Intelligence and Counterintelligence Analysts, their jobs are quite different. 

Counterintelligence Analysts focus on the activities of hostile intelligence services who are seeking to recruit agents or mount other hostile intelligence activities against a state's critical national infrastructure, military, and technology as well as the host government. These Analysts spy on spies. It takes a very particular skill and mindset to do this well.

Their work is among the most sensitive in a service. CI Analysts work in small groups and very few outside their circle know anything about their work.

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Spies & Spying: Counterintelligence Analysts, psychological profile notes

They must have exceptionally high standards, being precise and scrupulous about the work they produce. They also need great insight into people and politics. They need to be both technically and interpersonally very sophisticated. And it goes beyond question their honesty and integrity are crucial.

Three essentials for the counterintelligence analyst:

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Spies & Spying: Counterintelligence analysts in books and film

Biographies and autobiographies have been published on James Angleton, Oleg Kalugin, and Victor Cherkashin. In fiction, John le Carré’s Connie, George Smiley’s colleague and friend, is the classic Counterintelligence Officer.

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Excerpt courtesy of The Psychology of Spies and Spying by Adrian Furnham and John Taylor.

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SPYCHOLOGY ‍

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