Foreign Broadcast Information Service Article Index for
Foreign
Website Links For
Foreign
 

Information About

Foreign Broadcast Information Service




Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) is an Open Source Intelligence component of the CIA 's Directorate of Science and Technology that monitors, translates, and disseminates within the US Government openly available news and information from non-US media sources. In November 2005, it was announced that FBIS would become part of the newly-formed Open Source Center, tasked with the collection and analysing of freely-available intelligence.


HISTORY


FBIS was founded in 1941, six years before its parent agency.


SERVICES



CUSTOMERS


FBIS customers include highest-level policymakers, intelligence community analysts, and academics.


IN THE NEWS



Saving FBIS from budget cuts


The Federation Of American Scientists launched a successful campaign in 1997 to save FBIS from planned budget cuts.


The Larry Chin spy incident


Larry Wu-Tai Chin worked for FBIS from 1952 to 1981 and sold classified documents to China.


SIMILAR OUTFITS AROUND THE WORLD



Australia: Office Of National Assessments


Office of National Assessments.

Open Source Unit, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.


Britain: BBC Monitoring



China: Xinhua News Agency


Xinhua News Agency circulates for mid- and high-level internal consumption such publications as Reference Information (''Cankao Ziliao''), Internal Reference (''Neibu Cankao''), and "Redhead" Reference (''Hongtou Cankao'').


Norway



South Africa



FURTHER READING


  • ISBN 0-80-698238-1 ''The Wizards of Langley'' by Jeffrey T. Richelson about the CIA Directorate of Science and Technology

  • ISBN 1-57-488345-3 ''Silent Warfare'' by Abram N. Shulsky and Gary James Schmitt about basic concepts and issues involved in government intelligence

  • ''The CIA and the US Intelligence System'' by Scott D. Breckinridge about the structure of the US intelligence community

  • ''Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy'' by Mark M. Lowenthal about the role of intelligence in policymaking

  • ''Sailing the Sea of OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) in the Information Age'' by Stephen C. Mercado. Studies in Intelligence, vol. 48, no. 3, 2004

  • ''Reexamining the Distinction Between Open Information and Secrets'' by Stephen C. Mercado. Studies in Intelligence, vol. 49, no. 2, 2005



SEE ALSO




REFERENCES




Specified references