Intelligence e Intelligence Warfare

The world of secret services and espionage has always held a certain fascination for the human mind, as it is instinctively associated with an air of mystery and adventure. This is partly justified, but only partly. In reality, it is undoubtedly a special world, but one that requires a high degree of professionalism and technical skills, which are not always adrenaline-fuelled. The literature on this subject is rich and ranges from spy stories, which have contributed to a rather imaginative image of the secret services through often unrealistic procedures and protagonists, to historiographical non-fiction books that recount real events but often only touch superficially on the methods and techniques used by the secret services. This book, the result of over two years of work and twenty years of study and experience, can be read either in its entirety or only in the parts that are of interest to the reader. The first part covers the definitions, principles, characteristics, limitations and types of intelligence services, the procedures of the intelligence cycle, the tools and techniques of the analyst, the information support of military intelligence and the current information system for the security of the Republic. The second part is devoted to the presentation of the various disciplines of intelligence, from HUMINT to OSINT, from CULTINT to MEDINT, from economic to cyber intelligence, via the more technical disciplines (IMINT, SIGINT, TECHINT, MASINT), without neglecting counter-espionage and unorthodox activities. The conclusions focus on the relationship between intelligence and conflicts in the 21st century. The intention is to make concepts and procedures that are often not immediately understandable accessible by creating a text that is as complete as possible (though certainly not exhaustive), which will hopefully be an interesting read for those who are simply curious about the subject and a reference work for those who work in this or similar fields. It may also be a useful introductory tool for those who, for institutional or professional reasons, have to make decisions based on information developed using intelligence procedures.