Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) was an open source intelligence component of the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Science and Technology. It monitored, translated, and disseminated within the U.S. government openly available news and information from media sources outside the United States. Its headquarters was in Reston, Virginia Template:Coord, and it maintained 19 overseas monitoring stations worldwide. In November 2005, it was announced that FBIS would become the newly-formed Open Source Center, tasked with the collection and analysis of freely-available intelligence.Template:Ref
History[]
In February 1941, President Roosevelt directed that $150,000 be allocated for creation of the Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service (FBMS) under the authority of the Federal Communications Commission. The mandate of the FBMS was to record, translate, transcribe and analyze shortwave propaganda radio programs that were being beamed at the United States by the Axis powers. Its first monitoring station was established October 1941 in Portland, Oregon.
With the end of World War II, the FBMS was transferred to the Department of the Army. Like many other wartime organizations, the FBMS was threatened with disbandment. The possibility of its disbandment was roundly criticized in many different quarters, which helped ensure its survival.
In the 1947 the National Security Act of 1947, was created and the FBMS was renamed the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) as a part of the CIA. Its original mission was centered on radio and press agency monitoring. But with the Cold War, FBIS' mission was expanded in 1967 to include foreign mass media whether it was transmitted by radio or TV, and print.
Services[]
FBIS had 19 stations that were located around the world. These stations operated as an adjacent of a U.S. embassy/consulate or military command. These stations were not covert and operated with the consent of the host government. The personnel in these stations were both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who were responsible for the collection, translation, and dissemination of foreign open source material. Depending on location, and the availability of print media, these personnel may have been responsible for translation of more than one language. It should also be noted that because of the large number print/radio/TV/satellite sources worldwide FBIS did not collect all open source material, but only those sources that met the requirements of the Intelligence Community.
Besides the translations done overseas a large volume of less-time sensitive material was sent to FBIS headquarters in Reston where a more detailed translation can take place.
Not only were translations provided by in-house FBIS personnel, but approximately 700 independent contractors were also employed.
Customers[]
Material provided by FBIS was disseminated to over 700 recipients in not only in the U.S. Intelligence Community, but also a large number of government, diplomatic and military organizations.
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 collects published information in other countries and circulates, for mid- and high-level internal consumption, publications such as Reference Information (Cankao Ziliao), Internal Reference (Neibu Cankao), and "Redhead" Reference (Hongtou Cankao).
Further reading[]
- ISBN 0-8069-8238-1 The Wizards of Langley by Jeffrey T. Richelson about the CIA Directorate of Science and Technology
- ISBN 1-57488-345-3 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
- The Scope of FBIS and BBC Open Source Media Coverage, 1979–2008 by Kalev Leetaru. Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 54, no.1, 2010
- Foreign Broadcast Information Service History Part I: 1941-1947 by Joseph E. Roob. Written in 1969, declassified in 2009.
References[]
- Fighting a War of Words
- PBS Frontline on four Chinese espionage investigations
- Australian Office of National Assessments
- Australian Government Inquiry into Australian Intelligence Agencies
- Remarks by J. Niles Riddel D/Director FBIS at the 1st Int'l Symposium "National Security & National Competitiveness: Open Source Solutions" 2 Dec 92
Specified references[]
- Template:Note Template:Cite news
External links[]
- FBIS homepage
- World News Connection
- Readex online edition of FBIS Daily Report
- Federation of American Scientists webpage on FBIS
- DD/FBIS Speech at 1992 Open Source Solutions Symposium
- An essay on Open Source Intelligence
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