Intelligence (information) in the context of "Intelligence cycle"

Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret, confidential, or in some way valuable information. Such information is also referred to as intelligence. A professional trained in conducting intelligence operations by their government may be employed as an intelligence officer. Espionage may be conducted in a foreign country, domestically or remotely. The practice is clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be a legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law.

Espionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. The term is frequently associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies for military purposes. However, there are many types of espionage. Industrial espionage, for example, involves spying on civilians and their respective business or corporate interests.

Intelligence assessment, is a specific phase of the intelligence cycle which oversees the development of behavior forecasts or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on wide ranges of available overt and covert intelligence (also known as "intel").

The Intelligence field, in simplistic terms, is a collection of the people who gather or sift through intelligence. Those persons popularly called "spies" are a small but important part of the intelligence field. The intelligence field is the top-level field composed of people and organizations and their involvement the systematic espionage, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence to support policymaking and key stakeholder decision-making, primarily in matters related to national security, military affairs, law enforcement, and international relations. Collectively, that process of intelligence is usually called the intelligence cycle. The intelligence field can encompass a range of subfields including; espionage, surveillance, data analysis, and counterintelligence, all aimed at understanding threats, opportunities, and the intentions and power projection of foreign entities. While the act of espionage is illegal throughout the world, espionage is only a single subfield of the intelligence field. There are many subfields of intelligence that are not illegal everywhere, such as Open-source intelligence (OSINT).

Intelligence work can be conducted by government intelligence agencies, police forces, and military intelligence units. This work can also be engaged by private organizations, including; private intelligence agencies, multinational corporations, private investigators, drug cartels, narcotic cartels, terrorist groups, and others. Individuals employed by these organizations can either be fully employed officers of intelligence agencies called intelligence officers, or single and mission-specific solitary contracting agents who are commonly known as "secret agents." Confusingly, the term "spy" has no definition at most intelligence agencies, but is codified in many state judicial systems as an illegal operator.

An intelligence officer is a member of the intelligence field employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of officer is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way a "police officer" can also be a sergeant, or in the military, in which non-commissioned personnel may serve as intelligence officers.

Organizations which employ intelligence officers include armed forces, police, and customs agencies.

The Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) is the foreign intelligence agency of the Government of India. It is responsible for the collection, processing and assessment of intelligence outside India's borders deemed vital for the advancement of the country's national security interests. A key member of India's intelligence apparatus, R&AW's mandate includes surveillance of foreign politico-military developments that directly affect India's foreign policy, counterproliferation and counterterrorism.

Administratively, R&AW is not an agency in essence, but rather functions as a wing of the Cabinet Secretariat, albeit with autonomy from bureaucratic control. Its chief officer - designated as Secretary (Research), works under the Cabinet Secretary and cooperates with the National Security Advisor to report to the Prime Minister on all intelligence-related concerns.

A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making and as a setting for sharing of information or intelligence.