Non-official cover
Encyclopedia
Non-official cover is a term used in espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...

, particularly by national intelligence services, for agents or operatives who assume covert roles in organizations without ties to the government for which they work. Such agents or operatives are typically abbreviated in espionage lingo as a NOC . These agents are also known as "illegals"

History

An agent sent to spy on a foreign country might, for instance, work as a businessperson, a worker for a non-profit organization (such as a humanitarian group), or an academic. For example, retired NOC agent Scott Mahalick operated as a manager with a broadcast company for 10 years before leaving the agency and working full time in the radio broadcast industry. The CIA's Ishmael Jones
Ishmael Jones
Ishmael Jones is the pseudonym used by a former CIA officer. He resigned from the CIA and became a leading proponent of American intelligence reform, with special emphasis on the improvement of human source intelligence collection...

 spent nearly two decades as a NOC. Non-official cover is contrasted with official cover
Official cover
Official cover is a term used in espionage to refer to operatives who assume positions in organizations with diplomatic ties to the government for which they work....

, where an agent assumes a position at a seemingly benign department of their government, such as the diplomatic service
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

. This provides the agent with official diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...

, thus protecting them from the steep punishments normally meted out to captured spies, instead usually resulting in the agent being declared persona non grata
Persona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...

 and ordered to leave the country. Agents under non-official cover do not have this "safety net", and if captured or charged they are subject to severe criminal punishments, up to and including execution. Agents under non-official cover are also usually trained to deny any connection with their government, thus preserving plausible deniability
Plausible deniability
Plausible deniability is, at root, credible ability to deny a fact or allegation, or to deny previous knowledge of a fact. The term most often refers to the denial of blame in chains of command, where upper rungs quarantine the blame to the lower rungs, and the lower rungs are often inaccessible,...

, but also denying them any hope of diplomatic legal assistance or official acknowledgment of their service. Many of the agents memorialized without names or dates of service on the CIA Memorial Wall
CIA Memorial Wall
The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service.-Memorial:...

 are assumed to have been killed or executed in a foreign country while serving as NOC agents. In nations with established and well-developed spy agencies, the majority of captured non-native NOC agents have, however, historically been repatriated through prisoner exchange
Prisoner exchange
A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners. These may be prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc...

s for other captured NOCs as a form of gentlemen's agreement
Gentlemen's agreement
A gentlemen's agreement is an informal agreement between two or more parties. It may be written, oral, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties...

. Some countries have regulations regarding the use of non-official cover: the CIA, for example, has at times been prohibited from disguising agents as members of certain aid organizations, or as members of the clergy.

The degree of sophistication put into non-official cover stories can vary considerably. Sometimes, an agent will simply be appointed to a position in a well-established company which can provide the appropriate opportunities. Other times, entire front companies can be established in order to provide false identities for agents. Examples include Air America, used by the CIA during the Vietnam War, and Brewster Jennings & Associates
Brewster Jennings & Associates
Brewster Jennings & Associates was a front company set up in 1994 by the Central Intelligence Agency as a "cover" for its agents. The most famous is Valerie Plame, a "covert employee of the CIA" whose employment status was "classified" and whose then-classified covert identity was published in a...

, used by the CIA in WMD
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...

 investigations and made public as a result of the so-called "Plame affair
Plame affair
The Plame Affair involved the identification of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert Central Intelligence Agency officer. Mrs. Wilson's relationship with the CIA was formerly classified information...

", or "CIA leak scandal".

Examples

Nicholas Anderson is a real NOC who wrote an account of his service in a fictionalised autobiography (as per British law). The original non-fiction manuscript breached the UK Official Secrets Act
Official Secrets Act
The Official Secrets Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and Malaysia and formerly in New Zealand for legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security.-United Kingdom:*The Official Secrets...

 in 2000 and appeared in a 100 banned books list published in 2003.

Michael Ross
Michael Ross
Michael Bruce Ross was an American serial killer. In 2005, he was executed by the state of Connecticut, making it the first execution in Connecticut since 1960.- Early life :...

 a former Mossad officer, who operated as a Mossad NOC or "combatant" as described in his memoir, The Volunteer: The Incredible True Story of an Israeli Spy on the Trail of International Terrorists, Skyhorse Publishing, September 2007, ISBN 978-1602391321.

Chuck Barris
Chuck Barris
Charles Hirsch "Chuck" Barris is an American game show producer, film director and presenter best known for hosting The Gong Show and creating The Dating Game. Barris, a survivor of lung cancer, is also an author and claims to have worked for the CIA.-Early career:Barris was born in Oakland, New...

 made a satirical claim to have been a NOC with 33 kills. His story was recounted in the book and movie Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a 2002 biographical spy film depicting the life of popular game show host and producer Chuck Barris, who claimed to have also been an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency...

.

Fictional examples are featured in the books Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a 2002 biographical spy film depicting the life of popular game show host and producer Chuck Barris, who claimed to have also been an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency...

, Debt of Honor
Debt of Honor
Debt of Honor is a novel by Tom Clancy. It is a continuation of the series featuring his character Jack Ryan. In this installment, Ryan has become the National Security Advisor when the Japanese government goes to war with the United States...

, Ted Bell
Ted Bell
Ted Bell is an American author of suspense novels such as Hawke and Assassin, Pirate, and Spy. He is best known for his New York Times Bestselling series of spy thriller novels featuring the character Alex Hawke. Before becoming a novelist, he was President and Chief Creative Officer of the Leo...

's Pirate, and The Eleventh Commandment
The Eleventh Commandment
The Eleventh Commandment is a novel by Jeffrey Archer, first published in 1998. The title refers to the rule Thou Shalt Not Get Caught.- Plot summary :...

; in the movies Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible (film)
Mission: Impossible is a 1996 action thriller directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise. Following on from the television series of the same name, the plot follows a new agent, Ethan Hunt and his mission to uncover the mole within the CIA who has framed him for the murders of his entire...

, Spy Game
Spy Game
Spy Game is a 2001 American spy film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62,362,785 in the United States and $143,049,560 worldwide.-Plot:...

, The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Identity (2002 film)
The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American spy film loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency . The film also stars Franka...

, and The Recruit
The Recruit
The Recruit is a 2003 American spy thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynahan. It was released on January 31, 2003 in North America by Touchstone Pictures....

; and the TV shows Burn Notice
Burn notice
A burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...

, Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...

, and Covert Affairs
Covert Affairs
Covert Affairs is a USA Network television series starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. The one-hour drama premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. The show concluded its first season on September 14, 2010 and was renewed for a second season on August 19, 2010. The second season began airing on...

.
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