Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence (CI) refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of nations, are vulnerable to attack. It is the role of intelligence cycle security to protect the process embodied in the intelligence cycle, and that which it defends. A number of disciplines go into protecting the intelligence cycle. One of the challenges is there is a wide range of potential threats, so threat assessment, if complete, is a complex task.

Many governments organize counterintelligence agencies separate and distinct from their intelligence collection services for specialized purposes. In most countries the counterintelligence mission is spread over multiple organizations, though one usually predominates. There is usually a domestic counterintelligence service, perhaps part of a larger law enforcement organization such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. The United Kingdom has the separate Security Service, also known as MI5, which does not have direct police powers but works closely with law enforcement called the Special Branch that can carry out arrests, do searches with a warrant, etc. The Russian Federation's major domestic security organization is the FSB, which principally came from the Second Chief Directorate of the USSR KGB and Third Chief Directorate of the KGB USSR. Canada separates the functions of general defensive counterintelligence (contre-ingérence), security intelligence (the intelligence preparation necessary to conduct offensive counterintelligence), law enforcement intelligence, and offensive counterintelligence.

Joe Navarro (born 1953) is an author, public speaker and ex-FBI agent and supervisor. Navarro specializes in the area of nonverbal communication or body language and has authored numerous books including, What Every Body is Saying and Louder than Words.

Joe Navarro came to the USA at age 8 with his family shortly after the Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba. After earning a B.S. degree in Justice Administration (BYU) and subsequently a Master of Arts in International Relations (SRU), Joe worked as an FBI special agent and supervisor in the area of counterintelligence and behavioral assessment for 25 years. He is one of the original founding members of the FBI’s elite Behavioral Analysis Program and he also served as a SWAT Team Commander and Bureau Pilot. Since retiring from the FBI, Navarro writes books and lectures to share his knowledge of human behavior. He is presently on the adjunct faculty at Saint Leo University and has lectured multiple times at the Harvard Business School. Since 2003 Navarro has been a consultant to the State Departments and is a fellow with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.