 Seal of theUnited States Department of Energy (DOE) | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 4, 1977; 48 years ago (August 4, 1977) as various DOE intelligence and counterintelligence groups, became Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence upon 2006 merger of DOE intelligence and counterintelligence offices[1] |
| Superseding agency |
|
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States, although it conducts foreign intelligence analysis |
| Headquarters | James V. Forrestal Building 1000Independence AvenueSW Washington, D.C., U.S. 38°53′13″N77°1′34″W / 38.88694°N 77.02611°W /38.88694; -77.02611 |
| Agency executives | |
| Parent department | United States Department of Energy |
| Parent agency | None, but part ofUnited States Intelligence Community[4] |
| Website | OICI |
TheOffice of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (OICI; also abbreviatedIN,[5]DOE-IN,[6]DOE/IN,I&CI,[7] orOIC[8]) is an office of theUnited States Department of Energy (DOE) responsible for all intelligence and counterintelligence activities throughout the DOE complex. It was established in 2006 by the merger of pre-existingEnergy Department intelligence and security organizations.[8][9][10] Due to its central role, OICI is designated DOE's Headquarters Intelligence.[11] As a component of theUnited States Intelligence Community in addition to the Department of Energy, OICI reports to both theDirector of National Intelligence andSecretary of Energy.[4]
The Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence provides information to theSecretary of Energy and other senior federal policymakers. A member of theUnited States Intelligence Community,[12] it contributes unique scientific and technical analysis capabilities with a specialty inenergy security.[10][12][13] The office protects information and technology vital to both the U.S. economy andnational security,[12] leveraging its specific expertise innuclear weapons,proliferation,energy, andwaste.
OICI is responsible for all intelligence and counterintelligence functions of theDepartment of Energy complex, including thenational laboratories and nuclear weapons construction, decommissioning, assembling, storage, etc. facilities not under the jurisdiction of theUnited States Department of Defense (the DoE and DoD share responsibility for theUnited States' nuclear stockpile).[10] In itscounterintelligence role, the office safeguardsintellectual property in the form of national security information and technologies and protects Department of Energy employees and scientific staff.[12] In its intelligence role, the office utilizes theDepartment of Energy's scientific and technical expertise to provide guidance to policymakers concerning, in addition to energy security, the national security areas of defense,homeland security,cybersecurity, and intelligence.[13]
OICI'sintelligence analysis focuses on Department-relevant fields, such as foreignnuclear weapons andfuel cycle programs,nuclear material security andnuclear terrorism, counterintelligence issues, energy security,cyber intelligence, and strategic science and technology. OICI's counterintelligence focuses on fostering threat awareness within the DOE complex (the Department itself plus thenational laboratories and DOE contractors), analyzing threats to better protect DOE assets fromforeign intelligence andterrorism, evaluatinginsiders and foreign visitors for espionage risks, and investigatingcyber threats, terrorism, and espionage.[4]
OICI'scyberspace expertise, includingbasic research, cyber threat analysis,information technology,supercomputing, and cybersecurity, is extended to the nuclear weapons enterprise andelectrical grid providers for defense against cyberattacks andsupply chain attacks.[4]
OICI is a component of both theEnergy Department andIntelligence Community.
The director of OICI (D/OICI)[7] is selected by theEnergy Secretary with the concurrence of theDirector of National Intelligence (DNI).[14] The Secretary and DNI similarly consult on the director's removal, though statute specifies the President mayignore such consultations at will.[15]
Under U.S. law, the director must be substantially experienced in intelligence affairs and come from theSenior Executive Service or its intelligence agency equivalents, some of which require the concurrence of the DNI.[14]
The director is assisted by a principal deputy director and at least two deputy directors, one of which is the deputy director for counterintelligence.[16][17] OICI also includes a Director of Security[18][19] and deputy director of the interagency Nuclear Materials Information Program (NMIP).
The director of OICI is a member of theNational Intelligence Board[20] and program manager for DOE'sNational Intelligence Program (NIP) funds.[7] Since June 2019, OICI directors have also been charged which determining which foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs (e.g.Thousand Talents Plan) poseintellectual property andespionage threats. Foreign governments deemed to be "of risk" will have American DOE/NNSA researchers and contractors barred from participation.[21]
The office's first director was formerCIA officer Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, who joined DoE in November 2005.[22][23][24] Larssen served as director for three years before joiningHarvard'sBelfer Center in 2009.[25]
From 2007-2010, Carol Dumaine, another ex-CIA officer, served as Deputy Director for Energy and Environmental Security.[26]
Former CIA officer and intelligence author Edward Bruce Held occupied the office of director beginning at least September 2012.[27][28] Charles K. Durant served as Held's Deputy Director for Counterintelligence and Eric Jackson as Director for Security.[3]
Held was succeeded as director on March 8, 2013 by Principal Deputy Director Steven K. Black,[29][16] who still held the position as of September 2021.[30][31]
The current deputy director of the Nuclear Materials Information Program is Drew Nickels.[6][32] CurrentCybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agencychief security officer Kerry Stewart is a former director of security for OICI.[19]
OICI is divided into at least five directorates:
ACyber Directorate may also exist, as evidenced by OICI's Deputy Director for Cyber.[36] Other internal structures include OICI's Security Office,[18] the interagency Nuclear Materials Information Program (NMIP),[6] the Foreign Nuclear Programs Division (FNP),[6] and the Cyber Special Programs Division.[35]
OICI's lead individual forclimate andenvironmental security analysis is a member of the Climate Security Advisory Council convened by the Director of National Intelligence and set to disband on December 20, 2023.[15]
On February 25, 2016, an OICI employee was arrested for solicitation of prostitution inWashington, D.C. The employee arranged forescort services while working at OICI headquarters inside asensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) using his Department email address. The incident was investigated by the Department of Energy'sOffice of Inspector General (DOE OIG).[37]
In a September 2008 letter to then-Chairman of theHouse Committee on Energy and CommerceJohn Dingell, longtimecounterintelligence agent and seniorEnergy Department counterintelligence official Terry D. Turchie strongly condemned the then-new Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and its director Mowatt-Larssen, crediting "the dangerously chaotic state of counterintelligence within DOE" for his (Turchie's) resignation.
Much of Turchie's criticism focused on his perception that the new Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence was "restructuring around intelligence collection and away from sound counterintelligence principles" with "potentially catastrophic consequences;" for this, Turchie faulted Mowatt-Larssen, a former CIA officer he described as "intent on the primacy of intelligence over counterintelligence." He also criticized Mowatt-Larssen for alleged "purge[s]" of highly qualified counterintelligence officials for "dar[ing to] challenge [his] changes based on their concern for the rule of law or the dramatic and disastrous impact his changes would have had on DOE counterintelligence overall."[23]
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)| Deputy Secretary of Energy |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Under Secretary of Energy for Infrastructure | Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, & Energy Response | |
| Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security | ||
| Under Secretary of Energy for Science and Innovation | ||
| Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy | ||
| Power Marketing Administration | ||
| National Laboratory System | ||
| Energy Department Facilities and Reservations | ||
| Related Independent Agency | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
