The Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna, commonly known as AISE and formerly known as SISMI, is the foreignintelligence service of Italy. Operating outside Italy the organisation protects Italy's regional interests mainly through the use of HUMINT. Counterparts in other countries include the UK's MI6, the United States' CIA, Germany's BND, and France's DGSE. The agency is currently headed by General Giovanni Caravelli.
in an attempt to increase their effectiveness and bring them more fully under civilian control. AISE was founded in 2007 with the reform of the intelligence agencies provided by the Italian law: new agencies were formed as the Department of Information Security and the Homeland Security and Information Agency. The reform drastically changed the structure of Italian intelligence, as compared to the law, it now does not divide the responsibilities between civilian and military structures, but along territorial spheres of competence:
AISI only within Italy and
AISE only abroad,
DIS
aligning Italy with how other countries arrange their services. By law, it is a similar case with the Central Intelligence Agency in the U.S.
Tasks
The Agency as provided by Article 6 of law 124/2007, has the task of researching and developing all the necessary information to defend the independence, integrity and security of Italy from threats from abroad, including in implementation of international agreements. AISE also performs activities in the field of counter-proliferation of nuclear materials or materials found to be strategic, and information activities for security outside Italian national territory, to protect Italian political, military, economic, scientific and industrial interests, as well as detecting outside the national territory espionage activities directed against Italy and activities aimed at damaging national interests.
Territorial jurisdiction
AISE can perform operations only outside Italian national territory, as well as Italian embassies abroad. In fact, law expressly forbids AISE to operate in Italy, except if this is strictly necessary for the conduct of its operations. In this case, the rule requires that the operations in the country are only to be done in collaboration with the AISI and the Director General of the DIS shall ensure the necessary forms of coordination and linkage information in order to avoid overlapping of functions or territory.
Organization
124/2007 provides that AISE responds to the President of the Council of Ministers, as the authority entrusted with senior management and overall responsibility for information policy for Italian security. Nevertheless, the AISE shall promptly and continuously work with the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior. AISE is run by a Director appointed by the President of the Council of Ministers. The appointment has the maximum duration of four years and is renewable only once. The Director of AISE consistently refers to the President on the activities of the Council of Ministers or to a delegated authority, if this is established, through the Director General of the DIS. It reports directly to the President of the Council of Ministers in cases of urgency, or where other special circumstances so require, informing the Director General of the DIS without delay. The Director of AISE is flanked by one or more deputy directors, appointed and dismissed by the President of the Council of Ministers after consultation with the Director. The other positions within the Agency are appointed by the Director of AISE.
The same 2007 law recognizes the Department of Information and Security of the Defence Staff which relies on "tasks of general information, technical military and military police, and in particular any business information useful in order to protect principals and the activities of the Armed Forces abroad. The RIS operates in close liaison with the AISE." AISE and the RIS compete exclusive areas of general intelligence and counterintelligence in particular.
