Imperial Intelligence Directorate (Byzatium)
 Seal of the Imperial Intelligence Directorate | |
 Flag of the Imperial Intelligence Directorate | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | Independent (component of the Intelligence Community) |
| Motto | Per Aspera Ad Astra |
| Agency executive |
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The Imperial Intelligence Directorate (Greek: Διεύθυνση Βασιλικών Πληροφοριών Diéfthynsi Vasilikón Pliroforión), also known by its Greek initials ΔΒΠ DVP, or colloquially as the Directorate (Greek: Δυευθύνοντες Dyefthýnontes), is an intelligence agency of the Byzantine government tasked with gathering information of national interests. It gathers information for the Emperor, the Prime Minister and the Armed Forces about the current and potential threats from inside and outside against all the elements that make up Empire's integrity, constitutional order, existence, independence, security and national power and take precautions when necessary.
The DVP is under the provision of the Office of the Prime Minister. It works closely with the Byzantine diplomatic missions overseas.
History
To describe a history of Roman (and Byzantine) intelligence is to describe the history of the Roman state itself. Information gathering, both outside and within borders, for the purpose of maintaining external security and internal security, has always been practiced by the Roman state, with varying degrees of success.
The institutional history of Roman (Byzantine) intelligence is, however, much more recent. After centuries in which there was no need to define in a formalized and institutional way the apparatus dedicated to the collection and analysis of information, in the late nineteenth century the need to establish, even formally, a specialized body dedicated to information support of the strategies decided by the political authority, both externally and internally.
Predecessors
In 1891, the General Office of Criminal Investigation was founded, providing agencies across the country with information to identify known criminals. The socialist and anarchist wave across the world left the Byzantine government deeply worried about a possible social revolution. In order to alleviate these fears, and to meet demands of the newly-established House of Representatives, Emperor Michael XII instructed the Commissioner General of Security Georgios Akropolites to organize an autonomous investigative service that would report only to Commissioner General of Security itself.
Akropolites reached out to other institutions, including the Imperial Guard, for personnel, investigators in particular. In 1908, Michael XII, in order to overcome the parliamentary resistance, established the Security Service.
Security Service
The Security Service (Υπηρεσία Ασφαλείας Ypiresía Asfaleías, YA) was created on 23 September 1908. Commissioner General Akropolites, using expense funds, hired around 50 people to work for a new investigative agency. Its first Chief was Sokratis Antheas.
Esablishment of the DVP
In 1932, the Security Service was renamed the General Security Service; it became an independent service within the Ministry of Police and Security in 1934.[18] In the same year, its name was officially changed from the General Security Service to the Imperial Intelligence Directorate.
In 1935 the Directorate was moved from the Ministry of Police and Security to the auspices of the Prime Minister. The Imperial Intelligence Directorate at the time had only domestic security functions, the external intelligence activities being carried at the time by the Armed Forces and by informal networks of the diplomatic apparatus.
During the "War on Crime" of the 1930s, DVP targeted several criminal organisations who committed kidnappings, bank robberies, and murders throughout the Empire. Other activities of its early decades focused on the scope and influence of separatist groups across an Empire shaken by communist and fasicst pressures.
Domestic functions
The DVP is the domestic intelligence and security service of the Byzantine Empire. Operating under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Prime Minister, the DVP is also a member of the Byzantine Intelligence Community and reports to the Executive Vice-President of the Imperial Intelligence Coordinating Council.
The DVP maintains 70 field offices in major cities throughout the Empire, and more than 400 resident agencies in smaller cities and areas across the nation.
Organization
The DVP is organized into functional Services and the Office of the Director, which contains most administrative offices. A Deputy Director manages each Service. Each Service is then divided into Divisions, each headed by an Assistant Director. The various Divisions are further divided into Offices, led by Deputy Assistant Directors. Within these Offices, there are various Sections headed by section chiefs. Offices may depend directly on Services; in such cases, they are known as Central Offices.
Leadership
The Director of the Imperial Intelligence Directorate is appointed by the Emperor with Senate confirmation and reports directly to the Executive Vice-President of the Imperial Intelligence Coordinating Council. In practice, the Director interfaces with the Executive Vice-President of the Imperial Intelligence Coordinating Council, Prime Minister, and the Emperor, while the First Deputy Director is the internal executive of the DVP and the Protonotary of the DVP leads the day-to-day work as the third highest post of the DVP.
The First Deputy Director is generally considered a political position, making the Protonotary of the DVP the most senior non-political position for DVP career officers.
Office of the Director
The Office of the Director serves as the central administrative organ of the DVP. The office provides staff support functions to the seven operational Services and the various field divisions. The Office of the Director is managed by the Secretary of the DVP, who also oversees the operations of the Human Resources Service.
- Finance and Facilities Division
- Information Management Division
- Insider Threat Office
- Inspection Division
- Office of Military Affairs
- Office of Parliamentary Affairs
- Office of the General Counsel
- Office of Integrity and Compliance
- Office of Internal Auditing
- Office of the Ombudsman
- Office of Professional Responsibility
- Office of Public Affairs
- Resource Planning Office
Office of Military Affairs
The Office of Military Affairs (OMA) manages the relationship between the DVP and the Armed Forces, which produce and deliver to the DVP regional/operational intelligence and consume national intelligence produced by the DVP.
Services
The main Services of the DVP are:
- National Security Service
- Intelligence Service
- Science and Technology Service
- Analysis Service
- Operations Service
- Support Service
- Personnel Service
- Administrative and financial management support Service
Each branch focuses on different tasks, and some focus on more than one.
Rank structure
| DVP Investigative Rank | DVP Administrative Rank | Army equivalent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director First Deputy Director |
Army General | ||
| Deputy Director | Protonotary of the DVP | Army Corps General | A Deputy Director leads a Service. |
| Assistant Directors | Notary of the DVP | Division General | An Assistant Director leads a Division |
| Deputy Assistant Director | Deputy Notary of the DVP | Brigade General | A Deputy Assistant Director leads an Office or a major Regional Delegation |
| Coordinating Agent | Supervisory Administrative Director | Colonel | A Coordinating Agent leads a Regional Delegation or a major Residency |
| Deputy Coordinating Agent | Senior Administrative Director | Lieutenant Colonel | A Deputy Coordinating Agent leads a Residency |
| Senior Supervisory Agent | Administrative Director | Major | |
| Supervisory Agent | Supervisory Administrative Secretary | Captain | |
| Senior Agent | Senior Administrative Secretary | Lieutenant | |
| Agent | Administrative Secretary | Second Lieutenant | |
National Security Service
The National Security Service is the core service within the Imperial Intelligence Directorate. The National Security Service is responsible for protecting the Empire from weapons of mass destruction, acts of terrorism, and foreign intelligence operations and espionage. The Service accomplishes its mission by investigating national security threats, providing information and analysis to law enforcement agencies, and developing capabilities to keep the Empire secure.
The National Security Service is the primary domestic security body for matters going outside common/organised criminal activity.
Organisation
The National Security Service was formed in 1951 by the unification of the DVP's various national security and intelligence gathering units and, as 2020, consists of four Divisions:
- Counterterrorism Division
- Domestic Counterintelligence Division
- Foreign Counterintelligence Division
- Weapons of Mass Destruction Division
- Terrorist Screening Division
- High-Value Detainee Interrogation Unit
Foreign Counterintelligence Division
The Foreign Counterintelligence Division identifies, monitors, and analyzes the efforts of foreign intelligence entities, both national and non-national, against Byzantine government interests.
Intelligence Service
The Intelligence Service of the Imperial Intelligence Directorate handles all internal intelligence functions, including information sharing policies and intelligence analysis for national security and homeland security purposes. The Intelligence Service operates through the use of embedded intelligence strategies within the national territory, as opposed to the Operations Service, which is devoted to the foreign information collection.
Organisation
The Intelligence Service consists of language analysts, physical surveillance specialists, and DVP agents. The Service also oversees field intelligence operations through Field Intelligence Groups (FIGs), housed within various localized offices. The Intelligence Service is subdivided into five Divisions:
- Internal Analysis and Strategic Issues Division
- Internal Operations Division
- Internal Intelligence Services Division
- Private Sector Division
- Partner Engagement Division
Science and Technology Service
The Science and Technology Service is a service within the Imperial Intelligence Directorate whose role is discover, develop, and deliver innovative science and technology so that intelligence is enhanced. The Service is also responsible for all DVP information technology needs and information management.
Organisation
The Science and Technology Service consists of nine Divisions and two Central Offices:
- Operational Technology Division
- Laboratory Division
- IT Enterprise Services Division
- IT Applications and Data Division
- IT Infrastructure Division
- IT Management Division
- IT Engineering Division
- IT Services Division
- Digital Innovation Division
- Internet Governance Central Office
- 5G Central Office
Analysis Service
The Analysis Service is the foreign analytical branch of the DVP, responsible for the production and dissemination of all-source analysis on key foreign issues relating. It has six regional analytic groups, five groups for transnational issues, and two support units within the General Affairs and Support Division.
General Affairs and Support Division
The Analysis Service has two general support units in order to provide operational sustainment to its activities:
- Office of Collection Strategies and Analysis: provides comprehensive intelligence collection expertise;
- Office of Policy Support: deals with dissemination to policy makers as directed by the highest political authority.
Regional organisation
The regional organisation of the Analysis Service is subdivided into six Divisions:
- Holy Land and Arab Countries
- Europe
- Russian Empire
- Africa
- South Eastern Asia
- North and South Americas
Functional organisation
The Analysis Service controls five functionals Offices tasked to integrate with the regional organisation and to oversee their own sphere of responsibility.
- Office of Foreign Terrorism;
- Office of Global Affairs
- Office of Foreign Criminal Activity (in cooperation with law enforcement bodies)
- Office of Non-State Threats;
- Office of IT Threats.
Operations Service
The Operations Service is the componenent of the Imperial Intelligence Directorate tasked with collection of foreign intelligence. The Operations Service serves as the clandestine arm of the DVP and the national authority for the coordination, de-confliction, and evaluation of clandestine operations.
Organisation
The Operations Service is structured under its Deputy Director with five Divisions and the Operational and Security Situation Command:
- Foreign Counterproliferation Division
- Foreign Counterterrorism Division
- Regional & Transnational Issues Divisions
- Technology Support Division
- Community HUMINT Coordination Division
- Operational and Security Situation Command
Operational and Security Situation Command
The Operational and Security Situation Command is the body of the DVP tasked to execute the paramilitary function in support of DVP and military activities.
Operators of the Operational and Security Situation Command execute tasks such as covert transport of personnel and material by air, sea, and land, guerrilla warfare, the use of explosives, assassination and sabotage, and escape and evasion techniques. The Operational and Security Situation Command maintains a close relationship with the military special forces, and is largely run by former special forces members.
Personnel Service
- Training Division
- Personnel Division
- Security Division
Administrative and financial management support Service
- Facilities and Logistics Services Division
- Finance Division
- Records Management Division
- Resource Planning Office
- Inspection Division
Domestic regional organisation
The Imperial Intelligence Directorate (DVP) operates 70 Regional Delegations in major cities throughout the Byzantine Empire. Many of these offices are further subdivided into smaller Residencies that have jurisdiction over a specific area. These Residencies are considered to be part of the primary Regional Delegations. DVP headquarters, located in Costantinople, controls the flow of the agents and support staff that work out of the field offices across the country.
Each Regional Delegation is overseen by a Coordinating Agent, except those located in Athens, Trebisond and Costantinople, which due to their large size are each managed by an Deputy Assistant Director, assisted by Coordinating Agents responsible for specific programs or departments. The DVP also has overt offices overseas, usually located in American embassies.