# CSIS = CIA + NSA, but smaller?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 22, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606 "2003-11-22T00:51:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606/1 "2003-11-22T00:51:56Z")

</div>

Does CSIS (Canada) perform an equivalent function to that of both the American CIA and NSA?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sinungaling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Sinungaling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinungaling)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606/2 "2003-11-22T04:50:30Z")

</div>

No, CSIS is only responsible for domestic intelligence concerns. The CIA takes care of foreign intelligence, whereas I believe the NSA is responsible for signal intelligence. Canada has no government agency for foreign intelligence. Officially, anyway. And probably unofficially, too, but who knows what the spooks do when no one’s watching them.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606/3 "2003-11-22T04:56:06Z")

</div>

I was unaware that CSIS had any function at all, actually. 🙂

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Gest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gest)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606/4 "2003-11-22T05:04:54Z")

</div>

[CSE](http://www.cse.dnd.ca) takes care of foreign sigint.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sinungaling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Sinungaling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinungaling)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606/5 "2003-11-22T05:16:03Z")

</div>

Right, I forgot about them. But no Canadian agency for human intelligence exists, anyway.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606/6 "2003-11-22T07:34:52Z")

</div>

As **Gest** noted above, the CSE takes care of the NSA gig, doing difficult electronic stuff.

CSIS, having had a disc full of plaintext intelligence information (which included names of informants) found in a phone booth by a random civillian and having had a senior official leave classified documents in the trunk of her car to be stolen while she was attending a hockey game, takes care of the role of the CIA: scaring the living crap out of the people they’re protecting.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BaldTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@BaldTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaldTaco)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/csis-cia-nsa-but-smaller/214606/7 "2003-11-22T07:38:31Z")

</div>

Roughly:

CSE = NSA  
CSIS = CIA  
RCMP = FBI

DND also does a lot of the human intelligence.