October 18 2018 The National Counterintelligence and Security Center NCSC An Overview Section 3 5 a of Executive Order 12333 The U S Intelligence Community defines counterintelligence CI as “information gathered and activities conducted to identify deceive exploit disrupt or protect against espionage other intelligence activities sabotage or assassinations conducted for or on behalf of foreign powers organizations or persons or their agents or international terrorist organizations or activities ” Counterintelligence is often visible through its results the July 2018 criminal indictment of Russian nationals and companies for interfering in the 2016 presidential election and the October 2018 arrest and extradition of a Chinese intelligence officer for attempting to commit economic espionage are two examples Less visible are efforts by U S counterintelligence elements to prevent cyber hacking and economic espionage defend critical networks and infrastructure and deter insider threats The National Counterintelligence and Security Center NCSC is one of the four mission centers within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence ODNI It was established in 2014 to lead United States CI and security activities by consolidating existing CI and security offices and responsibilities “to effectively integrate and align counterintelligence and security mission areas under a single organizational construct ” NCSC develops and coordinates national CI strategy policy analytical products priorities and budgets through a cadre of CI and law enforcement professionals from across the IC Although NCSC oversees the CI and security activities of departments and agencies it is not authorized to conduct investigations or operations or to develop contacts with foreign intelligence services A National CI and Security Enterprise PDD-75 Presidential Decision Directive PDD 75 U S Counterintelligence Effectiveness—Counterintelligence for the 21st Century signed by President Clinton on January 5 2001 provided a foundation for a national organization to lead CI and security activities across the government PDD75 elaborated policy to keep pace with the proliferation of threats to U S national security that came with major developments in technology PDD-75 also provided for the development of national CI strategy and policy and the prioritization of CI requirements Most importantly PDD75 provided for the formal establishment of a national CI and security organization headed by the National Counterintelligence Executive NCIX and supporting office ONCIX a National CI Board of Directors and a National CI Policy Board NCIPB to advise the NCIX on the CI strategy and policy The CI structural elements established by PDD-75 were subsequently codified into statute through the Counterintelligence Enhancement Act of 2002 P L 107-306 Title IX §901 b November 27 2002 116 Stat 2432 National CI Executive NCIX As the senior official in the CI community the NCIX is nominated by the President and as of 2015 is also confirmed by the Senate The 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act IRTPA enacted to implement many of the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States known as the 9 11 Commission reorganized the NCIX and ONCIX within the newly constituted ODNI to facilitate the integration and coordination of national CI activities across the IC With the consolidation of national CI and security activities in the NCSC in 2014 the NCIX was redesignated as the Director NCSC Resources The NCSC and CI and security programs for each IC element are funded through the National Intelligence Program NIP budget The Director of National Intelligence DNI manages the NIP in order to align resources with prioritized requirements through the iterative Intelligence Planning Programming Budgeting and Evaluation IPPBE process See CRS In Focus IF10428 Intelligence Planning Programming Budgeting and Evaluation Process IPPBE by Michael E DeVine NCSC Strategic Goals and Statutory Functions The NCSC Strategic Plan for 2018-2022 specifies five strategic goals 1 Advancing knowledge of and ability to counter foreign and other threats 2 Protecting United States critical infrastructure technologies facilities classified networks sensitive information and personnel 3 Advancing the CI and security mission and optimizing CI cooperation and partnerships 4 Engaging and advocating for government and private stakeholders to improve effectiveness 5 Achieving organizational excellence To achieve these goals NCSC has a number of statutory functions including these  Producing the National Threat Identification and Prioritization Assessment NTIPA a strategic planning https crsreports congress gov The National Counterintelligence and Security Center NCSC An Overview        document with a consolidated list of CI requirements tied to specific CI threats Producing and implementing a national strategy derived from the NTIPA’s assessment of the CI environment Overseeing and coordinating the production of analyses of CI incidents including damage assessments and lessons learned Coordinating the development of CI and security budgets for departments and agencies with responsibility for CI and security activities Developing CI and security priorities for investigations and CI operations Conducting outreach programs to government and private sector entities to build awareness and cooperative relationships to protect United States critical infrastructure and institutions Conducting vulnerability assessments of both government and private sector entities to enable timely effective countermeasures Developing training policy and standards for CI and security professionals NCSC Organization National Intelligence Manager for CI NIM-CI The Director NCSC also serves as the NIM-CI responsible for oversight and integration of CI activities across the IC NIM-CI provides strategic guidance by means of a Unified Intelligence Strategy UIS for CI a classified strategy that provides a framework for enabling CI program managers across the IC to align resources with prioritized requirements tied to programs directed at achieving particular strategic objectives The NIM-CI also conducts mission reviews of CI programs and activities to assess their impact and alignment with national CI strategy National Insider Threat Task Force NITTF One component of NCSC the NITTF which is chaired by the DNI and the Attorney General was originally established through Executive Order 13587 in October 2011 The NITTF is responsible for developing policy and programs for deterring detecting and mitigating threats from personnel within the government or private industry who would unlawfully disclose classified information or in any way work to undermine U S national security on behalf of a foreign entity NCSC Director Evanina has underscored the seriousness of the continued risk posed by insider threat noting that it remains “as much a problem today as … five years ago ” The NITTF is also responsible for outreach to increase public awareness of the threat and provide best practices for deterrence detection and mitigation Some analysts have contended that the potential for insider threat-related activities has grown with the proliferation of social media platforms that can conceal communications though end-to-end encryption Center for Security Evaluation CSE The CSE provides advice and support to the Department of State on security for the construction and operation of diplomatic facilities overseas including security construction requirements assessments and mitigation of CI and security vulnerabilities and force protection NCSC Directorates The Operations Coordination Directorate helps to coordinate offensive and cyber CI operations providing strategic guidance and assessments of the effectiveness of these programs The Technical and Cyber Directorate is responsible for oversight of IC agency technical and signal security countermeasures and cyber CI and security The Supply Chain Directorate identifies and analyzes risks to the supply chain conducts outreach campaigns to increase awareness of threats to the supply chain and publishes risk management best practices Security Executive Agent SecEA and the Special Security Directorate SSD Personnel comprising the NCSC’s SSD serve as the executive staff supporting the DNI’s role as SecEA responsible for the “development implementation and oversight of effective efficient and uniform policies and procedures governing the conduct of investigations and adjudications for eligibility for access to classified information ” SSD professionals also support the SecEA’s role as a principal on the Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability Council PAC which oversees implementation of policy to overhaul the security clearance process SSD specifies policy for security clearance reciprocity among federal government agencies SSD also manages Scattered Castles the national repository for recording eligibility for access to Sensitive Compartmented Information SCI other controlled access programs and IC element visit certifications Table 1 NCSC Components  National Intelligence Manager for CI NIM-CI  National Insider Threat Task Force NITTF  Center for Security Evaluation  Operations Coordination Directorate  Technical Cyber Directorate  Supply Chain Directorate  Special Security Directorate Source NCSC Threat Environment NCSC has been principally concerned with four countries Russia China Iran and North Korea which it assesses to be responsible for political and economic espionage cyberattacks and information operations targeting the United States State and nonstate threats to the United States have specifically targeted organizations and infrastructure connected to the defense manufacturing energy financial public health and emergency services transportation and telecommunications sectors NCSC’s Strategic Plan also highlights the growing risk posed by threats operating in cyberspace that can use social media platforms to influence public opinion or exploit “smart” devices linked through the internet of things Acknowledgement This In Focus was originally coauthored with former CRS Intern Jackson K Stuteville Michael E DeVine Analyst in Intelligence and National Security IF11006 https crsreports congress gov The National Counterintelligence and Security Center NCSC An Overview Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service CRS CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role CRS Reports as a work of the United States Government are 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