#Isa international secret agents 2012 code#

The service's performance during the First World War was mixed, because it was unable to establish a network in Germany itself.

#Isa international secret agents 2012 code#

This usage evolved as a code name, and has been adhered to by all subsequent directors of SIS when signing documents to retain anonymity. He typically signed correspondence with his initial C in green ink. Its first director was Captain Sir Mansfield George Smith-Cumming, who often dropped the Smith in routine communication. During the First World War in 1916, the two sections underwent administrative changes so that the foreign section became the section MI1(c) of the Directorate of Military Intelligence. This specialisation was formalised before 1914. This specialisation was because the Admiralty wanted to know the maritime strength of the Imperial German Navy. The bureau was split into naval and army sections which, over time, specialised in foreign espionage and internal counter-espionage activities, respectively. The Bureau was a joint initiative of the Admiralty and the War Office to control secret intelligence operations in the UK and overseas, particularly concentrating on the activities of the Imperial German government. The service derived from the Secret Service Bureau, which was founded on 1 October 1909.

Since 1994, SIS headquarters have been in the SIS Building in London, on the South Bank of the River Thames. Some of SIS's actions since the 2000s have attracted significant controversy, such as its alleged complicity in acts of enhanced interrogation techniques and extraordinary rendition. Unlike its main sister agencies, Security Service (MI5) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), SIS works exclusively in foreign intelligence gathering the ISA allows it to carry out operations only against persons outside the British Islands. The stated priority roles of SIS are counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, providing intelligence in support of cyber security, and supporting stability overseas to disrupt terrorism and other criminal activities. Today, SIS is subject to public oversight by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. It provides the legal basis for its operations. That year the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (ISA) was introduced to Parliament, to place the organisation on a statutory footing for the first time. The existence of SIS was not officially acknowledged until 1994. The name 'MI6' (meaning Military Intelligence, Section 6) originated as a convenient label during the Second World War, when SIS was known by many names. įormed in 1909 as the foreign section of the Secret Service Bureau, the section grew greatly during the First World War officially adopting its current name around 1920. SIS is one of the British intelligence agencies and the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service ('C') is directly accountable to the Foreign Secretary.

The Secret Intelligence Service ( SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence in support of the UK's national security.