Selected Aspects of Intelligence Services’ Recruitment of Sources in Online Environments: Characteristics, Threats and Countermeasures

This article examines the distinctive characteristics of agent recruitment within human intelligence (HUMINT) operations conducted in cyberspace. It analyzes selected modalities of informant recruitment employed by specialized HUMINT units operating in virtual environments, while simultaneously addressing the attendant risks and threats. Furthermore, it argues that the progressive migration of societal activity from the physical domain to the virtual sphere has significantly enhanced the strategic relevance of cyber-enabled human intelligence. The study posits that the principal mechanism for mitigating online recruitment efforts lies in the systematic enhancement of awareness among individuals who constitute potential intelligence targets, with regard to the methods, strategies and tradecraft employed by intelligence services. Ultimately, the article addresses a substantive gap in the existing literature concerning the recruitment of online information sources, conceptualizing this phenomenon as a strategic HUMINT response to the global population’s transition into cyberspace.