Reference
Glossary
The words this atlas is written in. Many of them are terms of art inside the institutions that use them — which is why they are so often deployed to obscure rather than describe.
B
1Blowback
The unintended consequences of a covert operation that return to harm the state that ran it.
C
1Compartmentalisation
Restricting knowledge of an operation to those who need it, so that most participants cannot describe the whole.
D
2Deep state
A claimed permanent bureaucracy that pursues its own policy against elected governments. Used loosely; rarely evidenced as a single actor.
Disinformation
Deliberately false or misleading information spread to deceive a target, including one's own public.
F
1False flag
An operation designed to appear as though it were carried out by someone else, usually to justify retaliation or to shift blame.
O
2Official account
The version of events published by the institution responsible. Not the same as a verified account.
Overclassification
Classifying material beyond what security requires, often to avoid embarrassment rather than to protect sources.
P
2Plausible deniability
The deliberate arrangement of an operation so that senior officials can truthfully claim they were not told the details.
Psy-op
Psychological operation: activity intended to influence the emotions, motives or reasoning of a target population or group.
S
2SIGINT
Signals intelligence: information gathered from communications and electronic emissions.
Sanitisation
Removal of compromising material from a person's file so they can be employed, decorated or protected.
U
1Unwitting subject
A person used in an experiment or operation without being told, and therefore without consent.