'''Counterintelligence''' is the use of [[espionage]] tactics to infiltrate and break up [[spy]] rings.
Unlike the intelligence field, which includes [[active measures]], [[direct action]], and [[covert activity]], counterintelligence is separate field unto itself, with its own specialized professional [[jargon]].
The objective of [[counterintelligence]] (CI) is to identify an intelligence operative.. However, the intelligence operative's objective is not simply to evade detection; he has a more important mission to perform, and avoiding counterintelligence detection is just part of performing that mission. Once the identification has been made by counterintelligence, the operative is not just arrested, tried, and carted off to jail as in other crimes; a decision must be made, and he usually is temporarily left in place so as not to tip off how he came to be identified, which would have the effect of compromising other counterintelligence operations.