| Agency Name: | Security and Intelligence Service |
| Nativename: | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Serviciul de Informații și Securitate (SIS) |
| Formed: | 16 November 1999 |
| Preceding1: | 9 September 1991, the Ministry of National Security of the Republic of Moldova |
| Jurisdiction: | President of Moldova, under the observation of the Parliament of Moldova |
| Headquarters: | Chișinău, Republic of Moldova |
| Chief1 Name: | Alexandru Musteață |
| Chief1 Position: | Director |
| Website: | www.sis.md |
The Security and Intelligence Service is a Moldovan state body specialized in ensuring national security by exercising all appropriate intelligence and counter-intelligence measures, such as: collecting, processing, checking and capitalizing the information needed to identify, prevent and counteract any actions that according to law represent an internal or external threat to independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, constitutional order, democratic development, internal security of the state, society and citizens, the statehood of the Republic of Moldova, the stable functioning of vitally important branches of the national economy, both on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and abroad.[1]
The mission of the SIS is efficient protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, society and state against risks and threats to state security, promotion of democratic values and national interests of the Republic of Moldova.[2]
The main objectives of the institution are:
| 1 | Tudor Botnaru | July 1990 | 29 August 1991 | |
| 2 | Anatol Plugaru | 29 August 1991 | 1 July 1992 | |
| 3 | Vasile Calmoi | 1 July 1992 | 24 January 1997 | |
| 4 | Tudor Botnaru | 24 January 1997 | 11 May 1999 | |
| 5 | Valeriu Pasat | 11 May 1999 | 21 December 2001 | |
| 6 | Ion Ursu | 21 December 2001 | 15 October 2007 | |
| 7 | Artur Reșetnicov | 1 November 2007 | 11 September | |
| 8 | Gheorghe Mihai | 25 September 2009 | 13 October 2011 | |
| 9 | Mihai Bălan | 25 October 2012 | 21 December 2017 | |
| 10 | Vitalie Pîrlog | 21 December 2017 | 21 February 2018 | |
| 11 | Vasile Botnari | 3 May 2018 | 8 June 2019 | |
| 12 | Alexandru Esaulenco | 25 June 2019 | 2 June 2022 | |
| 13 | Alexandru Musteață | 2 June 2022 | Incumbent |
According to the art.8 of the Law on Security and Intelligence Service of the Republic of Moldova No 753-XIV of 23.12.1999, intelligence activity is directed to collecting data and information relevant to national security, in order to provide legal beneficiaries with a decision-making basis.
Operations for protection and promotion of national interests of the Republic of Moldova are conducted in order to reach the intelligence objectives.
The mission consists in carrying out a complex system of activities meant to identify, at an early stage, dangers and risks to national security reported to current threats.
The gathered information is analysed and integrated in analytical products regarding strategic assessment of the security environment that is generated by the globalization effects, in order to strengthen the profile of the Republic of Moldova as a contributor to regional and international security.[11]
According to the art.8 of the Law on Security and Intelligence Service of the Republic of Moldova No 753-XIV of 23.12.1999, counterintelligence activity aims to identify, prevent and counteract risks and threats to the national security of the Republic of Moldova, deriving from espionage, subversive actions, plans and intentions of foreign intelligence agencies or paramilitary, terrorist, extremist and separatist groups.
Counterintelligence implies an operational and analytical management, meant to efficiently combine intelligence, creative practices and advanced technology, in order to act promptly and address unpredictable situations.
In particular, we are referring to identification of those actions and individuals, which can become targets for foreign intelligence agencies and adversary groups that carry out activities oriented against interests of the Republic of Moldova.
The exploration area, in order to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty against direct, informational and hybrid aggression, includes the main strategic fields, such as politics, economics, social, military and technology.
The goal is to maintain and ensure national functional capacities from the perspective of human, technical, and logistic resources, considering their prompt adaptation in relation to asymmetrical risks, as well as using the development potential for the direct benefit of the citizens.
Security of the Republic of Moldova is a component part of global security. Emergence of asymmetric threats in the era of contemporary globalization entails building sustainable partnerships within the complex system of intelligence community in order to reduce the risks that threaten national and regional security.
Preventing and combating security threats to Moldova is an approach where the Security and Intelligence Service cooperates with special services and partner structures at regional and international levels. After 1991, once the institution was founded, the evolution of the SIS cooperation partnerships witnessed positive dynamics, taking various forms: exchange of information and expertise, participation at specialized events and accomplishment of joint operations with foreign partners.
In the context of Moldova's integration into EU structures, the Service imperatively intends to join regional intelligence platforms, establish and promote bilateral and multilateral relations with line institutions at international arena. The goal pursued in this interaction is oriented towards fundamental national security interests and active involvement of the SIS in creating an adequate climate for regional and European security, aiming at the promotion of Moldova's image not only as security consumers but also as a generator of it.[12]
Cyberspace gets to be a comfortable platform for preparing and conducting computer crimes, cyber terrorism and other malicious actions designed to affect, directly or indirectly, the national security. Thus, the penetration of informational systems or electronic communication of public authorities and other institutions and public or private companies, which are dealing with sensitive information, may compromise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of this information, and therefore may cause financial or other damage, including the damage to state security. Also, penetration of informational systems afferent to critical infrastructure of the Republic of Moldova may result in unauthorized control over these systems, and therefore, in affecting the economic, social, political, informational, military and other kind of processes.
However, the global nature of informational systems and electronic communication networks, as well as transnational nature of cybercrime requires close coordination among all responsible institutions at both national and global level.
In this context, one of the primary missions is to prevent and combat aggression in virtual environment, internal or external, targeting electronic communication systems of national importance. This mission is carried out in accordance with the legislation in force through the following operational processes:
Intelligence analysis is the process of transformation of primary data, gathered by means of secret sources (HUMINT, SIGINT, IMINT, MASINT) or open sources (OSINT), in intelligence relevant for national security.
This activity means filtering, separating, comparing, and integrating the primary data. The result of this complex process is – producing intelligence products (complex document with timely, relevant and verified information, with assessment and forecasting elements).
The main effort of the SIS analysts is to apply valuable judgments, especially to uncertainties, incomplete data, ambiguous situations, towards orienting the data gathering process (for intelligence and counterintelligence components).
The outcome of intelligence analysis (intelligence product), usually, is disseminated to legal beneficiaries / decision-makers and is meant to support them in taking decisions of national interest in two priority directions:
a) prevention/ mitigation of risks, threats and vulnerabilities to national security;
b) use of opportunities to promote national interests.[13]