Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive

The Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive (ONCIX) directs national counter-intelligence (CI) for the United States government and is responsible to the Director of National Intelligence. The Office was established on January 5, 2001 by a directive from President Bill Clinton which also established the National Counterintelligence Board. It replaced the National Counterintelligence Center, which was created in 1994 in response to the arrest of CIA mole Aldrich Ames.

The ONCIX facilitates and enhances US counterintelligence efforts and awareness by enabling the CI community to better identify, assess, prioritize and counter intelligence threats from foreign powers, terrorist groups, and other non-state entities; ensuring the CI community acts efficiently and effectively; and providing for the integration of all US counterintelligence activities. The Office characterizes its mission as: "Exploit and defeat adversarial intelligence activities directed against American interests; Protect the integrity of the US intelligence system; Provide incisive, actionable intelligence to decisionmakers at all levels; Protect vital national assets from adversarial intelligence activities; Neutralize and exploit adversarial intelligence activities targeting the armed forces."

The National Counterintelligence Executive chairs the National Counterintelligence Policy Board, the principal inter-agency mechanism for developing national CI policies and procedures, and heads the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive.

On August 7, 2006, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte appointed Joel F. Brenner to serve as National Counterintelligence Executive and Mission Manager for Counterintelligence.

On 21 September 2009, Robert "Bear" Bryant was appointed as the National Counterintelligence Executive.