National Counterintelligence and Security Center

{{short description|US federal agency}} {{distinguish|Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency|National Cyber Security Centre (disambiguation){{!}}National Cyber Security Centre}} {{Infobox government agency | agency_name = National Counterintelligence and Security Center | seal = Seal_of_the_National_Counterintelligence_and_Security_Center.svg | seal_width = | seal_caption = Seal of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center | formed = {{Start date|2001|01|05}} | preceding1 = National Counterintelligence Center | preceding2 = Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive | jurisdiction = Counterintelligence on behalf of the federal government of the United States | headquarters = | coordinates =  | chief1_name = George Wesley Street | chief1_position = Director | parent_department = Director of National Intelligence }}

The '''National Counterintelligence and Security Center''' ('''NCSC''') leads national counterintelligence (CI) for the United States federal government. It is a mission center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

== History == {{singlesource|section|date=July 2025}} thumb|Seal of the preceding agency, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive The position of National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX) and its supporting office, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (ONCIX), were established on January 5, 2001, by a presidential directive (PDD-75) from then-President Bill Clinton; the directive also established the National Counterintelligence (CI) Board of Directors and National CI Policy Board (NCIPB) to advise the NCIX.<ref name=CRS1/> ONCIX replaced the National Counterintelligence Center, which was created in 1994 in response to the arrest of CIA mole Aldrich Ames.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aaas.org/spp/scifree/articles/011901.shtml |title=Clinton Establishes New Federal Counterintelligence Organizations |last=Singh |first=Samir |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |date=January 19, 2001 |access-date=2007-09-08}}</ref> These new counterintelligence institutions were later codified by the Counterintelligence Enhancement Act of 2002.<ref name=CRS1/>

The 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA), passed to implement many of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, placed the NCIX and ONCIX, which coordinated Intelligence Community (IC) counterintelligence, inside the new Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), responsible for coordinating all IC activities.<ref name=CRS1/>

In November 2014, the Director of National Intelligence established NCSC by combining ONCIX with the Center for Security Evaluation, the Special Security Center, and the National Insider Threat Task Force, to effectively integrate and align counterintelligence and security mission areas under a single organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-who-we-are/ncsc-history|title=History of NCSC|website=U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence|access-date=2019-09-27}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> With this reorganization, ONCIX ceased to exist as a separate organization. The National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX) became the Director of the new NCSC.<ref name=CRS1>{{cite report |author=Michael E. DeVine |date=October 18, 2018 |title=The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC): An Overview |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11006/2 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |access-date=July 22, 2021}}</ref>

== Activities == {{Update|type=section|date=September 2019|reason=}} The NCSC facilitates and enhances US counterintelligence efforts and awareness by enabling the CI community to better identify, assess, prioritize and counter intelligence threats from foreign powers, terrorist groups, and other non-state entities; it ensures that the CI community acts efficiently and effectively; and provides for the integration of all US counterintelligence activities. Its official mission<ref>[http://www.ncix.gov/about.html Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive]</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=February 2017}} is to:

* exploit and defeat adversarial intelligence activities directed against US interests * protect the integrity of the US intelligence system * provide incisive, actionable intelligence to decision-makers at all levels * protect vital national assets from adversarial intelligence activities * neutralize and exploit adversarial intelligence activities targeting the armed forces

The NCSC Director chairs the National Counterintelligence Policy Board, the principal interagency mechanism for developing national CI policies and procedures, and directs the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Counterintelligence and Security Center: Strategic Plan, 2018–2022 |publisher=Office of the Director of National Intelligence |url =https://www.odni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/Regulations/2018-2022-NCSC-Strategic-Plan.pdf }}</ref> The Board consists of members from the Department of Justice, (which includes the FBI), Department of Defense (including the Joint Chiefs of Staff), Department of State, Department of Energy, and the CIA. The Board may also include appointed additional members from "any other department, agency, or element of the United States Government".<ref>{{Cite web |title=50 U.S. Code § 3381 - Coordination of Counterintelligence Activities |url =https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3381 |website =Legal Information Institute}}</ref>

While NCSC does not distribute warnings of potential threats to the private sector, it works closely with the FBI's Awareness of National Security Issues and Response (ANSIR) program, with the State Department's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), as well as with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to ensure that such warnings are timely made.<ref name="Roper-164">{{Cite book |last =Roper |first =Carl A. |year =2013 |title =Trade Secret Theft, Industrial Espionage, and the China Threat |location =Boca Raton, Florida |publisher=CRC Press |page=164 |isbn=978-1-4398-9938-0}}</ref> The Office of Counterintelligence of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency maintains a full-time presence within NCSC.<ref name="Roper-171">{{harvnb|Roper|2013|page=171}} </ref>

==Leadership== On August 7, 2006, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte appointed Joel F. Brenner to serve as National Counterintelligence Executive and Mission Manager for Counterintelligence.<ref>Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Public Affairs Office. "National Counterintelligence Executive and Mission Manager for Counterintelligence." ODNI News Release No. 15-06. Washington, DC: 7 August 2006.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=About ONCIX |publisher=National Counterintelligence Executive |url=http://www.ncix.gov/about/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430144257/http://www.ncix.gov/about/index.html |archive-date=30 April 2007 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

On September 21, 2009, Robert "Bear" Bryant was appointed as the National Counterintelligence Executive.<ref>[http://www.ncix.gov/docs/20090918_NewNCIX.pdf Office of the Director of National Intelligence]</ref>

In May 2014, DNI James R. Clapper appointed William Evanina, a former FBI special agent with a counterterrorism specialty, as the new National Counterintelligence Executive.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Charles S. |last=Clark |date=15 August 2014 |title=Meet the Man Who's Gauging the Damage From Snowden |publisher=Government Executive (National Journal Group, Inc.) |url=http://www.govexec.com/management/2014/08/meet-man-whos-gauging-damage-snowden/91595/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505124515/http://www.govexec.com/management/2014/08/meet-man-whos-gauging-damage-snowden/91595/ |archive-date=5 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, Congress made the position subject to the Appointments Clause, making it subject to Senate confirmation,<ref name=CRS1/> and in 2018 President Trump formally appointed William Evanina to the position of Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.<ref name="Knauth">{{Cite magazine|last=Knauth |first=Dietrich |date=13 February 2018 |title=Trump Nominates Evanina To Stay On As Counterintel Head |magazine=WashingtonExec |url=https://www.washingtonexec.com/2018/02/trump-nominates-evanina-director-counterintelligence/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503193453/https://www.washingtonexec.com/2018/02/trump-nominates-evanina-director-counterintelligence/ |archive-date=3 May 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy}}</ref>

In January 2021, deputy director Michael Orlando became the acting director.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Acting Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center |publisher=National Counterintelligence and Security Center |url=https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-who-we-are/ncsc-leadership |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218082252/https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-who-we-are/ncsc-leadership |archive-date=February 18, 2021 |url-status=live }} <sup>Primary source</sup></ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Choi |first=Matthew |date=January 21, 2021 |title=U.S. intelligence head who warned of foreign election threats steps down |newspaper=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/21/william-evanina-steps-down-ncsc-461130 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121202226/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/21/william-evanina-steps-down-ncsc-461130 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2023, Michael C. Casey was sworn in as NCSC director.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DNI Haines Statement on Senate Confirmation of Mike Casey as Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center |url=https://www.odni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2023/3726-dni-haines-statement-on-senate-confirmation-of-mike-casey-as-director-national-counterintelligence-and-security-center |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=www.odni.gov}}</ref>

In January 2025, Mark Frownfelter was named the acting director.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Acting Director NCSC |url=https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-who-we-are/ncsc-leadership |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=www.dni.gov}}</ref>

==Notes and references== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070102040754/http://www.ncix.gov/ Official NCIX site] (archived versions only) * [http://www.ncsc.gov/ Office of the Director of National Intelligence, National Counterintelligence and Security Center] {{Clear}}

Category:2001 establishments in the United States Category:Counterintelligence agencies Category:United States intelligence agencies Category:Intelligence analysis agencies