# SIGINT **Entity class:** Intelligence discipline **Domain:** Signals intelligence / national security **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Signals intelligence (SIGINT)** is intelligence derived from intercepted signals, including communications intelligence and electronic or instrumentation signals, under applicable legal authorities. It can identify communicators, technical characteristics, timing, location, and network behavior. SIGINT is one layer of counterterrorism, not the location of all relevant data. Financial institutions, customs systems, immigration records, human sources, and open sources hold other parts of the operational picture. This distinction is central to understanding why PRISM-style communications collection does not replace [[wiki/Financial Intelligence|financial intelligence]] or systems such as [[wiki/ICEPIC|ICEPIC]]. ## Relationships - **supports:** [[wiki/Counterterrorism Intelligence|Counterterrorism Intelligence]]. - **integrated through:** [[wiki/All-Source Intelligence|All-Source Intelligence]]. - **distinct from:** [[wiki/Financial Transaction Data|Financial Transaction Data]], [[wiki/HUMINT|HUMINT]], and [[wiki/OSINT|OSINT]]. - **can support:** [[wiki/Pattern-of-Life Analysis|Pattern-of-Life Analysis]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [Office of the Director of National Intelligence — What is Intelligence?](https://www.dni.gov/index.php/what-we-do/what-is-intelligence)