MI5 is the British security service while MI6 is the British foreign intelligence service. Crudely, MI6 are "our" spies while MI5 is there to catch "their" spies. It gets a little more complicated in that MI6 has its own "counter-intelligence" section.
Ian Fleming created the fictional character of James Bond as the central figure for his works. Bond is an intelligence officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander.
MI6 is the UK's foreign intelligence service. It is tasked with gathering intelligence overseas to improve the country's security, with the core aims of stopping terrorism, disrupting the activities of hostile states, and bolstering cyber-security.
MI5 gathers information, analyses it, and works closely with the police and other agencies to prevent things like terrorist attacks and espionage. On the other hand, MI6 is more like the “international spy agency” for the UK.
In the Fleming novels M stands for the character's last name, and I think his whole name is Sir Miles Messervy. The movies have carried on this tradition with other characters (Mawdsley, Mansfield, and Mallory) rather than explain why Bond's superior is called something else other than 'M'.
Inside England Prestigious Factory Building James Bond Aston Martin DB5
What does the Q stand for in James Bond?
Q (standing for quartermaster), like M, is a job title rather than a name. The use of letters as pseudonyms for senior officers in the British Secret Service was started by its first director, Captain Sir Mansfield George Smith-Cumming (1859–1923), who signed himself with a C written in green ink.
However MI7 was a branch of the British War Office's Directorate of Military Intelligence and responsible for press liaison and propaganda. The branch was originally established in the Great War and disbanded after the signing of the Armistice.
The CIA, though a much younger agency (it has its roots in the WW2 agency the Office of Strategic Services, and was actually founded as the CIA in 1947), and modeled on MI-6 to some degree, is much larger, and generally believed to be better at technical stuff (e.g. satellites, drones, spy planes, etc.).
The four main agencies are the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6), the Security Service (MI5), the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and Defence Intelligence (DI).
The real thing, the man who became one of the great agents of the [Second World War] is William Stephenson." Elsewhere Fleming wrote of Stephenson that he "used to make the most powerful martinis in America and serve them in quart glasses".
The KGB was responsible for most espionage and counter-espionage activities, both foreign and domestic, essentially acting as a combined unit equal to the CIA and FBI in the United States, or a combination of MI5 and MI6 in the United Kingdom. Military intelligence was undertaken by the GRU.
FBI AND BKA - THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION AND THE WEST GERMAN FEDERAL CRIMINAL POLICE BUREAU (BUNDESKRIMINALAMT) - A COMPARISON OF ORGANIZATION AND COMPETENCIES.
The CIA is the equivalent of MI-6. Both are responsible for foreign intelligence. The domestic counter-espionage/anti-terrorism branches of the FBI are the equivalent of both MI-5 and the Special Branch (or whatever they're calling it now) of Scotland Yard.
In order to join MI6, you must be a British citizen and have lived in the UK for the majority of the 10 years prior to your application to join the agency. The easiest way to confirm your nationality is to have a UK passport that describes you as a British citizen.
The DCI's title now is "Director of the Central Intelligence Agency" (DCIA), serving as head of the CIA. Currently, the Central Intelligence Agency answers directly to the Director of National Intelligence, although the CIA Director may brief the President directly.
The FBI is a national and federally empowered police force - to investigate crime. They do NOT collect clandestine intelligence or have anything to do with the military. The NSA is the nearest equivalent to MI5 but GCHQ's role may well overlap in terms of jurisdiction.
M.I. 9 stands for Military Intelligence, Section 9, and was an ingenious branch of Second World War military intelligence, tasked with assisting evaders and escapers. Established on 23 December 1939, M.I. 9 was based for most of the war at Wilton Park, Beaconsfield.
The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is comparable to both MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) in certain aspects. Here's a breakdown of their roles and responsibilities: CIA: The CIA is the primary intelligence agency of the United States [3].
Despite a reliance on UKSF for special operations, SIS operatives still receive training in the use of firearms, including pistols and submachine guns. It would be rare, however, for an SIS Intelligence Officer to fire or even carry a firearm in the line of duty.
Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster suggested that Dench's casting gave the character maternal overtones in her relationship with Bond, overtones made overt in Skyfall, in which Silva repeatedly refers to her as "Mother" and "Mommy" [sic]. In Skyfall she is revealed to be a widow.
Killing off Judi Dench's M in Skyfall was a bold move to revitalize the 007 franchise after Quantum of Solace's poor reception. Dench's departure was part of a plan to give Bond a new world with a new M, introducing major changes after the problematic previous film.
She's the no-nonsense MI6 boss known only by the codename M. But now the true identity of James Bond's mentor has finally been revealed. An eagle-eyed film fan managed to freeze-frame a single camera shot in 'Skyfall' lasting just a split-second and discovered that M's real name is Olivia Mansfield.
