The Dipartimento delle Informazioni per la Sicurezza (DIS, 'Department of Information for Security') is a department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy, instituted in 2007 as part of the reform of the Italian security services. The department is part of Sistema di informazione per la sicurezza della Repubblica (information system for security). It is currently headed by Elisabetta Belloni, the successor to General Gennaro Vecchione.
The department is divided into several functional areas. The Central Security Office (Ufficio Centrale per la Sicurezza) deals specifically with administrative protection of state secrets, including the granting or withdrawal of security clearance to individuals and organisations, the Central Archives Office (Ufficio Centrale degli Archivi) coordinates and manages the data in the possession of the Italian secret services, and the Training School (Scuola di Formazione) is responsible for the training of government and civilian staff.
History
DIS was established with law n. 124 of 3 August 2007, published on the Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 187 of 13 August 2007, related to the reform of Italian secret services.
Since that period, CESIS (whose functions had been adsorbed by DIS), SISMI and SISDE have been replaced by DIS, AISI and AISE.
Tasks and functions
DIS oversees the activities of AISE and AISI on the correct application of the dispositions issued by the Italian President of the Council of Ministers or a Delegated Authority, as well as in the field of administrative tutelage of classified informations; it manages the promotion activities and the spreading of the culture about security and institutional communication and it addresses for the unitary management of personnel in the various structures.
DIS carries out different tasks: it coordinates the information activity for security, verifying also the results collected from the activities of AISE and AISI. It is constantly informed about the competent operations of information services for the security and transmits the informations and reports from these services, armed and police forces, State administrations, public and private research entities to the Prime Minister.
The department promotes and ensures the informative exchange between AISE, AISI and police forces; it communicates to the Prime Minister about the acquisition from the informative exchanges and the results of periodical reunions. These informations are transmitted, under disposition of the Prime Ministerand after consulting the Comitato interministeriale per la sicurezza della Repubblica (CISR, 'Inter-ministerial Committee for the Security of the Republic'), to public administrations or entities interested to the acquisition of security informations. It elaborates, along with AISE and AISI, the acquisition plan of human and material resources and of every other resource useful for the intelligence activities, to submit for the approval of the Prime Minister.
While leaving intact the exclusive competences of AISE and AISI regarding the elaboration of the related operative research plans, DIS elaborates strategical analysis or related to particular situations, formulates estimations and previsions based on the sectorial analytical contributions of AISE and AISI. Furthermore, DIS elaborates, also according to informations and reports of other agencies or entities, global analysis to submit to al CISR, as well as projects of informative research on which the Prime Minister decides, after consulting CISR.
Structure
The department has general functions compared to the two operative agencies and it works through the following offices: