American Board of Intelligence Analysts^®

About ABIA

The objective of the American Board of Intelligence Analysts^® (ABIA) is to promote excellence in the examination, study, and assessment of real and potential threats, risks, and adversaries in the public and private intelligence sector(s).Our mission is accomplished through a sector-agnostic approach to the study of best practices, tactics, operation, organizational structure, mindset, and leadership in the analysis of intelligence for a multitude of purposes.

Our Mission: To enhance the quality of the intelligence life cycle by certifying intelligence analysts and intelligence practitioners to include law enforcement officers, fusion center coordinators, members of the military, security professionals, and corporate stakeholders who demonstrate the knowledge, skills, attitudes essential for excellence, and the review, interpretation, and assessment of intelligence through various levels of specialized training and sharing of best practices among their respective organizations.
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 9/11 Commission Report cited a number of examples in which the lack of effective information sharing between federal, state, and local agencies resulted in the failure of authorities to intercept the attacks; our Nation's inabilities to share intelligence across agency or sector lines was highlighted. In order to survive against the internal threat of terrorism, the intelligence community was forced to expand from its traditional defense and international coordination infrastructure into the state, local, and corporate sectors.

The American Board of Intelligence Analysts^® aims to create a certification standard for intelligence practitioners serving in the current multi-faceted intelligence environment to benchmark professionals in the field and enhance our nation's ability to gather, analyze, disseminate, and utilize information to prevent terrorist attacks; prevent or solve crimes; protect against, respond to, and recover from security breeches and incidents of all kinds; and to coordinate and strengthen the mission of protecting the free world from acts of tyranny, terror, and aggression.

The American Board of Intelligence Analysts^® supports best practices such as the InfraGard program, sector-specific information sharing & analysis centers (ISACs), regional fusion centers, and other similar organizations throughout the Intelligence Community.

As the ABCHS puts together this esteemed board of professionals, we look forward to the privilege of working with established intelligence and public trust professionals in developing a program, as a team, that will be for the betterment of the ABCHS and humankind.

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Certification

Qualifications for setting for ABIA/Phase I, II, III Certification Course

• Be a member in good standing with the American Board for Certification in Homeland Security
• Have Security Clearance
• Be a US Citizen
• Complete the course for Phase I, II, and III and successfully pass the 150-question examination

Have at least one year of specialized experience in one of the following fields:

• Experience interpreting or analyzing vague to complex information to discern patterns, trends, and relationships and to draw conclusions by applying rules that involved many steps.
• Experience interpreting or analyzing moderately complex information received from a variety of sources to make inferences or draw conclusions by applying rules that involved a number of steps or cross-referenced data.
• Experience interpreting or analyzing straightforward intelligence information to arrive at answers to problems by applying rules that involved only one or two steps.
• The candidate has experience as a research specialists and/or intelligence analyst, operations specialist, or investigator and is recognized as a specialist, expert, or technician with responsibility for complex, difficult, or most strategic assignments in their functional area of responsibility.

Pricing: $495, which includes Phase 1 and then your choice of either Phase 2 or 3. Two of the three phases must be completed to obtain certification.

Phase I - This course is designed for intelligence community analysts responsible for analyzing information and making decisions in intelligence related organization.  The goal is to ensure Intelligence Analysts have a basic understanding of U.S. Intelligence Community from its inception to the present, in addition to the intelligence cycle and various forms of intelligence collection.  A key component of the course is the legislation and executive orders creating the various members of the community, its members, and the roles they play in the Intelligence Community.  Additionally, the role Congress plays in control and oversight of intelligence operations is beneficial to ensure the intelligence analyst understands expectations of U.S. laws and lawmaker overseers.  Finally, the role of the Director of National Intelligence will be examined, coupled with understanding the ongoing restructuring of the intelligence community in the wake of 9/11.

Phase II - This course is designed for intelligence community analysts responsible for analyzing information and making decisions in intelligence related organization.  The goal is to ensure a basic understanding of Intelligence Analysis is possessed by an individual seeking a certification in Basic Intelligence Analysis and Decision Making.  This certification course examines the cultural and psychological biases which impact the objectivity of the intelligence process and decision-making with regard to their usefulness of intelligence products within today's government, military, civil, and business organizations. Human information processing and problem solving will be discussed from a psychological perspective, as well as psychological factors influencing the information processing of the individual Analyst. Limitations of memory and attention, and effects of categorisation and summarisation of information on intelligence analysis will be determined. The students will review intelligence processes and inferences about cognitive sciences and decision- making processes. The course will identify ways of countering these psychological mechanisms, and students will acquire tools in order to improve the objectivity of intelligence analysis that influences the individual analyst during each stage of the intelligence cycle. 

Phase III - This certification course is designed for intelligence community analysts responsible for analyzing information and making decisions in intelligence related organizations. The goal is to ensure an in-depth understanding of how critical thinking skills affect daily analysis of information. These skills are paramount and should be possessed by an individual seeking a certification in Critical Thinking and Intelligence Analysis. This certification course examines the definition of critical thinking, the standards of critical thinking, and skill-based definitions to further help an analyst understand the components of critical thinking. Using historical situations related to the intelligence community of past like the Soviet Missile Crisis in Cuba, this certification course will help an intelligence analyst understand how to employ critical thinking in analysis situations. Additionally, analysts will understand how to think critically, coupled with the cost and benefits of thinking critically and how critical thinking can transform current and future analytical analysis and decision making. Furthermore, the analyst will review key methodologies, learn how to assess evidence in a whole new light, and comprehend creating better inferences when employing critical thinking.

For more information, please contact us at:
Email: cao@abchs.com
Phone: (877) 219-2519

What is intelligence?
"Intelligence is the product resulting from the collection, processing, integration, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of available information concerning foreign nations, hostile or potentially hostile forces or elements, or areas of actual or potential operations. The term is also applied to the activity which results in the product and to the organizations engaged in such activity."
(Source: Joint Pub 2-0, Joint Intelligence, dtd. 22 June 2007)