Aprivate intelligence agency (PIA) is aprivate sector (non-governmental) orquasi-non-government organization devoted to the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information, through the evaluation of public sources (OSINT or Open Source INTelligence) and cooperation with other institutions.[1] Some private intelligence agencies obtain information deceptively or through on-the-ground activities for clients.[2][3][4][5][6]
Private agencies have made their services available to governments as well as individual consumers; they have also sold their services to large corporations with an interest or investment in the category (e.g.crime,disease,corruption, etc.) or the region (e.g.Middle East,Vietnam,Prague, etc.) or to investigate perceived threats such as environmental groups or human rights groups.[7][8][9][10][11]
Some private intelligence agencies use online perception management,[12] social media influencing/manipulation campaigns, strategic disinformation[13] (such asfake news production/propaganda production[14]),opposition research and political campaigns using social media andartificial intelligence such asPsy-Group,Cambridge Analytica andBlack Cube.[15][16][17][18][19] TheAtlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab described the activity of Archimedes Group as practicing "information warfare".[20] Former anti-corruption prosecutor Aaron Sayne said private intelligence is "an industry that's largely undocumented and has very flexible ethical norms" as agencies collect and use sensitive information "for one purpose on day one and some completely contradictory purpose on day two".[21]
The private intelligence industry has boomed due to shifts in how theU.S. government is conductingespionage in thewar on terror. Some $56 billion (USD) or 70% of the $80 billion national intelligence budget of the United States was in 2013 earmarked for the private sector according toThe New York Times' Tim Shorrock. Functions previously performed by theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA),National Security Agency (NSA), and otherintelligence agencies are now outsourced to private intelligence corporations.[22]
^Britovšek, Jaroš; Tičar, Bojan; Sotlar, Andrej (2018-04-01). "Private intelligence in the Republic of Slovenia: theoretical, legal, and practical aspects".Security Journal.31 (2):410–427.doi:10.1057/s41284-017-0107-0.ISSN1743-4645.S2CID157343997.
^Burgis, Tom (14 January 2017). "Dossier affair shines light on shadowy private intelligence work: In the corporate sphere paymasters sometimes have ulterior motives".Financial Times. p. 3.
