In Counterintelligence Theory and Practice, Hank Prunckun aims to address the relative lack of theory-driven research and observations when it comes to the study of counterintelligence. Designed as a textbook, this work is a valuable contribution that will be particularly useful to those who are new to the counterintelligence field, writes Courteney J. O’Connor

O’Connor, Courteney J.

English

LSE Research Online

Book	Review:	Counterintelligence	Theory	andPractice	by	Hank	PrunckunIn	Counterintelligence	Theory	and	Practice,	Hank	Prunckun	aims	to	address	the	relative	lack	of	theory-drivenresearch	and	observations	when	it	comes	to	the	study	of	counterintelligence.	Designed	as	a	textbook,	this	work	is	avaluable	contribution	that	will	be	particularly	useful	to	those	who	are	new	to	the	counterintelligence	field,	writesCourteney	J.	O’Connor.	Counterintelligence	Theory	and	Practice	(2nd	Edition).	Hank	Prunckun.	Rowman	and	Littlefield.	2019.In	the	preface	to	the	second	edition	of	Counterintelligence:	Theory	and	Practice,	HankPrunckun	identifies	an	issue	with	which	counterintelligence	scholars	have	beenconcerned	for	quite	some	time:	the	relative	lack	of	subject-matter	literature	that	dealsspecifically	with	theory-driven	research	or	observations.	This	is	not	a	claim,	byPrunckun	or	by	this	reviewer,	that	there	are	no	books	on	or	concerningcounterintelligence,	because	there	are	many.	Simply	that,	comparative	to	the	extantliterature	in	other	fields,	the	literature	for	counterintelligence	is	considerably	lacking	intheoretical	developments	or	application.	Prunckun’s	text	is	designed	to	serve	as	afoundation	for	future	theoretical	work	in	the	area.The	initial	chapter	of	the	text	concerns	the	challenges	of	counterintelligence,	anddiscusses	some	of	the	declassified	(known)	counterintelligence	failures.	It	should	benoted	that,	unlike	other	scholarship	which	may	limit	intelligence	studies	to	those	topicsthat	relate	only	to	the	state,	Prunckun’s	work	refers	also	to	counterintelligenceundertaken	by	other	entities,	such	as	non-state	actors	and	corporations,	as	well	asindividuals	in	certain	cases.	As	context	for	the	rest	of	the	book,	this	situates	thematerial	more	in	the	realm	of	the	practical	than	the	theoretical,	but	it	is	educational.The	second	chapter	discusses	what	Prunckun	identifies	as	the	five	fields	of	counterintelligence:	national	security;military;	law	enforcement;	business;	and	private.	Within	counterintelligence	as	a	discipline,	he	identifies	two	sub-disciplines:	counterintelligence	and	counterespionage.	While	it	seems	moderately	confusing	to	label	one	sub-discipline	after	the	umbrella	discipline,	it	does	make	sense	for	the	future	direction	of	the	field.	For	the	purposes	ofPrunckun’s	understanding	of	counterintelligence	(the	discipline),	counterintelligence	(the	sub-discipline)	is	theprotection	of	the	agency’s	(‘your’)	secrets	against	the	opposition,	whereas	counterespionage	is	more	along	the	linesof	counter-spying	(made	famous	by	novels	and	Hollywood	films)	and	the	subversion	or	deception	of	oppositionagents.LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Counterintelligence Theory and Practice by Hank Prunckun Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-06-11Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2020/06/11/book-review-counterintelligence-theory-and-practice-by-hank-prunckun/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/The	primary	offering	of	Prunckun’s	text	is	the	construction	of	a	theory	of	counterintelligence	that	rests	upon	fourtenets	and	is	split	into	two	fields.	The	tenets	are	detection;	deception;	deterrence;	and	neutralisation.	These	fourtenets	belong	primarily	to	two	fields:	the	former	two	to	defensive	counterintelligence,	and	the	latter	two	to	offensivecounterintelligence.	There	are,	of	course,	areas	where	defensive	and	offensive	counterintelligence	will	overlap	bythe	mere	fact	that	each	supports	the	other	and	requires	some	of	the	same	foundations,	but	from	a	theoretical	aswell	as	a	practical	standpoint,	it	is	useful	to	understand	the	differences	between	the	two	fields.Prunckun	identifies	and	briefly	discusses	each	of	the	seventeen	pillars	of	defensive	counterintelligence	that	histheory	recognises	(55-62).	These	range	from	executive	responsibility	and	support	(overall	and	functionalresponsibility	of	the	executive	of	a	security	agency	or	branch),	through	to	defense-in-depth	(layered	defence	anddelay	mechanisms,	or	a	system	of	barriers	designed	to	decrease	an	attacker’s	momentum),	core	hardening	andcomplicity	(constructing	the	strongest	barrier	around	the	most	important	target,	and	making	it	difficult	enough	topenetrate	security	that	more	than	one	person	will	be	required	for	the	attack,	thus	increasing	the	chances	ofdetection	and	defence).	Utilising	a	sports	metaphor,	Prunckun	analogises	defensive	counterintelligence	with	theposition	of	the	goalkeeper	on	a	pitch:	‘goal	keepers	are	important	to	sporting	teams	because	they	prevent	theopponent	from	scoring.’	He	goes	on	to	state	that	since	a	team	will	never	win	a	game	without	the	offensive	side,	thecrucial	purpose	of	defensive	counterintelligence	then	becomes	the	facilitation	of	offensive	counterintelligence	–counterespionage.	While	an	accurate	analysis,	it	could	be	argued	that,	continuing	the	metaphor,	even	if	theoffensive	side	fails	to	achieve	a	goal	against	the	opponent,	if	the	defensive	side	can	hold,	then	a	0-0	draw	remainsa	better	outcome	than	a	0-1	loss.According	to	the	author,	there	are	three	key	issues	in	counterintelligence	planning,	no	matter	the	entity	doing	theplanning:	threat;	vulnerability;	and	risk	(66).	Threats	are	either	implicit	or	explicit,	projected	or	delivered	by	the	threatagent	and	represent	the	resolve	by	that	agent	to	inflict	harm	upon	another.	The	relative	threat	level	of	a	hostileparty	can	be	worked	out	by	evaluating	the	hostile	agent’s	desire	to	inflict	harm;	the	expectation	they	will	succeed;and	the	knowledge	and	resources	at	their	disposal	to	see	the	threat	successfully	carried	out:	threat	=	(desire	+expectation)	+	(knowledge	+	resources)	(69).	The	risk	of	that	thing	happening	is	a	function	of	the	likelihood	(that	thethreatened	action	will	occur)	and	the	consequence	(of	that	thing	occurring).	Vulnerability	is	fairly	self-explanatory,but	it	is	a	general	measure	of	how	vulnerable	an	entity	is	to	threats	and	risks.Following	on	from	this	examination,	Prunckun	states	that	a	counterintelligence	plan	should	address	prevention;preparation;	response;	and	recovery	(PPRR):LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Counterintelligence Theory and Practice by Hank Prunckun Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-06-11Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2020/06/11/book-review-counterintelligence-theory-and-practice-by-hank-prunckun/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/PPRR	–	develop[s]	a	plan	that	does	four	things:	attempts	to	prevent	such	an	interception	(prevention);prepares	the	agency	for	such	an	interception	if	prevention	measures	fail	(preparedness);	guides	theagency	in	the	actions	it	needs	to	take	to	respond	to	an	interception	that	is	underway	or	has	occurred(response);	and	suggests	what	needs	to	be	done	to	aid	the	agency’s	client	in	recovering	once	theinterception	incident	has	passed	(recovery)	(66).In	this	respect,	then,	counterintelligence	is	a	continuous	and	forward-looking	discipline	just	as	much	as	areactionary	practice,	and	this	is	an	important	observation:	counterintelligence	failures	receive	a	lot	more	press	thansuccesses,	in	large	part	because	of	the	consequences	of	those	failures.	By	publicising	what	went	wrong	in	the	waythat	practitioners	react	to	events,	however,	it	is	often	underrepresented	how	many	years	of	planning	and	conductare	funnelled	into	the	successes	that	are	never	heard	of.The	second	half	of	the	text	goes	into	some	detail	on	various	types	of	defensive	and	offensive	counterintelligence,from	personnel	and	communications	security	through	to	deception	and	neutralisation	(counterespionage),	beforefinishing	with	a	chapter	on	the	ethics	of	counterintelligence.	The	sections	on	offensive	counterintelligence	are	well-structured	and	the	ideas	within	it	are	stated	logically	and	eloquently,	tying	in	nicely	with	the	theoretical	work	in	thefirst	half	of	the	book.	These	‘overview’	chapters	are	informative,	but	offer	less	‘new’	information	than	theintroductory,	theoretical	chapters.	They	are	nonetheless	worth	reviewing	for	a	holistic	sense	of	the	text.Overall,	this	is	an	interesting	volume	and	the	work	on	the	theory	of	counterintelligence	is	a	valuable	contribution	tothe	field.	It	was	difficult	to	read	in	some	areas,	as	the	phrasing	and	sequence	of	ideas	were	occasionally	confusing,which	made	the	reading	experience	less	enjoyable	than	it	may	otherwise	have	been,	It	is	designed	as	a	textbookand	would	serve	well	as	such	for	those	who	are	entering	or	new	to	the	field	of	counterintelligence.	The	studyquestions	and	learning	activities	at	the	end	of	every	chapter	are	designed	to	reinforce	the	key	concepts	andterminology	of	each	chapter	and	are	well-constructed.	This	volume	contains	several	valuable	ideas	and	should	bework	that	counterintelligence	scholars	become	familiar	with.Note:	This	review	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	of	theLondon	School	of	Economics.Image	Credit:	Image	by	Tayeb	MEZAHDIA	from	Pixabay.	LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Counterintelligence Theory and Practice by Hank Prunckun Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-06-11Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2020/06/11/book-review-counterintelligence-theory-and-practice-by-hank-prunckun/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/

Book review: Counterintelligence theory and practice by Hank Prunckun

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Book review: Counterintelligence theory and practice by Hank Prunckun

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