Reform of SHISH –
URGENT AND COMPREHENSIVE
REFORM OF SHISH
Albania needs a modern, professional and technology-driven intelligence service fully committed to national security
By Flamur Buçpapaj
At a time when national security is threatened not only by traditional forms of espionage, but also by cyber warfare, foreign interference, hybrid warfare, attacks against critical infrastructure, disinformation, transnational organized crime and the use of emerging technologies, Albania can no longer rely solely on structures and concepts inherited from the past.
The State Intelligence Service of Albania must enter a new phase. Albania needs a deep, urgent and comprehensive reform of SHISH, a reform that must not be undertaken for political interests, administrative rotation, or simply to replace one group of people with another. Its purpose must be to build a modern national intelligence institution capable of addressing the realities and threats of the twenty-first century.
An intelligence service is one of the most important institutions of a state. It cannot function on the basis of political militancy, personal connections, nepotism or short-term interests. Its primary loyalty must be to the Constitution, the Republic, the law and the national interest.
For precisely this reason, reform must begin at the top.
The Director of SHISH Must Be Selected Through a National Competition and a Rigorous Security-Vetting Process
One of the most important changes that reform should introduce concerns the way the Director of SHISH is identified and selected. For an institution of such importance, the process should not be limited to the political or administrative selection of a single name.
A competitive, professional, multi-stage process should be established, allowing several qualified candidates who meet the legally defined requirements to compete.
This does not mean that sensitive personal information about candidates should be made public. On the contrary, the process should clearly distinguish between the publicly disclosed elements of the competition and the confidential aspects of security vetting.
A candidate for Director of SHISH should meet exceptionally high professional and ethical standards. The candidate should be an Albanian citizen, possess high integrity, and have substantial experience in areas relevant to national security, intelligence, defense, diplomacy, justice, international relations, technology, or the management of important state institutions.
The candidate should hold a university degree and, given the importance of the position, demonstrate a high level of professional education. Candidates with substantial leadership experience, knowledge of international relations and proven analytical abilities should receive particular consideration.
Knowledge of foreign languages should be an important criterion, particularly languages relevant to Albania’s strategic relationships and national security.
The candidate should undergo comprehensive security clearance, in accordance with Albanian legislation governing classified information. The process should examine professional history, integrity, potential conflicts of interest, assets and their lawful sources under applicable procedures, relationships that could present security risks, and compliance with confidentiality obligations.
There should also be a professional assessment of the candidate’s ability to lead a modern intelligence institution, including knowledge of hybrid threats, counterintelligence, cybersecurity, technology, artificial intelligence, strategic analysis and international cooperation.
The competition must not become a formal procedure designed merely to legitimize a name that has already been chosen. There should be several genuine, vetted and professionally qualified candidates, evaluated against clearly established criteria.
Following the competitive and national security-vetting stages, Albania should also make use of appropriate cooperation mechanisms with strategic partners, including NATO and allied intelligence services, where permitted by Albanian law and international agreements. The purpose should be to strengthen security standards and professional verification, not to transfer Albania’s sovereign decision-making authority to foreign institutions.
The final decision must remain with the competent Albanian authorities in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
The principle should therefore be clear: professional competition, rigorous security screening, institutional verification, consultation with allies where legally appropriate, and ultimately an Albanian constitutional decision.
A person entrusted with leading SHISH must be capable of safeguarding the Republic’s most sensitive information and making decisions in the interest of the state, regardless of who is in government.
Albania Must Build a New Generation of Intelligence Professionals
One of the greatest mistakes would be to believe that reform can be achieved simply by changing the leadership.
No.
Real reform begins with people.
The service should launch a strong recruitment program for a new generation. Albania has young people educated at leading Albanian, American and European universities, with expertise in computer science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, mathematics, statistics, economics, finance, law, diplomacy, foreign languages and international relations.
These people should be recruited through open and professional competitions, with clear criteria and rigorous security vetting.
The SHISH of the future cannot be an institution dominated solely by the traditional profile of an intelligence officer. It must include lawyers, economists, analysts, linguists, engineers, programmers, artificial-intelligence specialists and cybersecurity experts.
If an adversary uses technology, the state must have specialists who understand it.
If a threat emerges through cyberspace, the state must have experts capable of analyzing it.
If information is received in foreign languages, the service must have professionals capable of understanding it directly and accurately.
That is why recruiting a new generation cannot be treated as an ordinary administrative process. It must be regarded as a strategic investment in Albania’s national security.
A National Intelligence School Must Become a Priority
A serious reform cannot be built without a serious training system.
Albania needs a National Intelligence School, or a modern national training institution within the legal framework governing the service, where new intelligence officers and analysts can receive specialized preparation.
Training should cover strategic intelligence, counterintelligence, intelligence analysis, foreign languages, technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data analysis, economics, finance, national and international law, classified-information protection and professional ethics.
The school should cooperate with academies and counterpart institutions in allied countries, always within applicable agreements and security regulations.
A new Albanian intelligence officer should be capable of operating in an international environment and understanding modern threats, rather than relying exclusively on traditional approaches to intelligence collection.
SHISH Must Enter the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The world has changed, and artificial intelligence is transforming the way states analyze information.
A modern intelligence service cannot remain outside this transformation.
Professional capabilities must be developed in data analysis, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, information-system protection and the identification of digital threats.
But technology must not replace human judgment.
Strategic decisions must remain a human and institutional responsibility, while technology should be used to assist in processing large volumes of information and identifying risks more rapidly.
This transformation requires serious investment and highly qualified professionals.
Territorial Reorganization Is Necessary
Another important element of reform should be a review of the territorial structure of the service.
An intelligence service cannot be merely a capital-centered institution. It must have sufficient professional capacity to understand developments and security challenges throughout the country.
This does not mean returning to outdated models or creating structures that interfere with citizens’ lives. On the contrary, territorial presence must be professional, lawful and focused exclusively on genuine threats to national security.
A comprehensive assessment of existing structures should determine where reorganization, reinforcement or new capabilities are necessary.
Territorial leadership should also be subject to periodic professional and security assessments. Reappointment should be based on merit, performance, integrity and professional ability.
Counterintelligence Must Be at the Heart of Reform
If an important institutional weakness exists, it must be identified and addressed.
This requires a comprehensive audit of information security and procedures for protecting classified information.
Who has access?
To what information?
Is that access still necessary?
Is the “need-to-know” principle being respected?
Are electronic systems adequately protected?
Are there sufficient procedures for identifying information leaks?
These are not political questions. They are questions of national security.
An intelligence service may be highly capable of collecting information, but if it cannot protect that information, the security of the state itself is placed at risk.
Restructuring the Career System
Reform must establish a modern career system.
Personnel should advance because of professionalism, integrity, performance, training and demonstrated ability.
There should be a clear system of periodic evaluation and opportunities for specialization.
At the same time, safeguards must ensure that personnel reassessment does not become a political instrument.
SHISH must remain outside partisan political battles.
An intelligence service used for political interests loses public trust and ultimately damages the very state it is supposed to protect.
Democratic Oversight and Confidentiality
Strengthening SHISH must not mean weakening oversight of it.
On the contrary, a modern intelligence service must be both powerful in protecting the state and subject to constitutional and legal oversight mechanisms.
This is particularly important because intelligence services work with highly sensitive information.
Oversight must be genuine, while protecting intelligence sources, operational methods and classified information.
The proper balance must be found between two fundamental needs: state security and the rule of law.
Reform Must Also Have a Legal Foundation
Such a reform cannot be implemented solely through administrative orders.
It must be accompanied by a comprehensive review of the legal framework governing the organization’s structure, powers, personnel, classified information, oversight and institutional responsibilities.
It must be determined whether existing legislation is sufficient for the new technological and security environment or whether legislative amendments are necessary.
Powers and responsibilities, oversight procedures, recruitment standards, career structures and mechanisms for protecting classified information must all be clearly defined.
In other words, reform must rest on three pillars: law, structure and people.
Albania Does Not Need a Political SHISH
This must be stated clearly.
Reforming SHISH must not mean replacing one political group with another.
It must mean creating a new professional institutional culture.
The service must work for the Republic, not for whichever government happens to be in office.
Governments change.
Presidents change.
Parliaments change.
But the Albanian state and national security remain.
That is why Albania needs an institution with professional continuity, one that does not change direction every time political power changes hands.
A New SHISH for a New Albania
The reform I am proposing should not be viewed as a reform against individuals.
It should be a reform for the institution.
Young people must have the opportunity to enter the service on the basis of merit. Technology specialists must have a place. Linguists must be valued. Analysts must have professional career paths. Cybersecurity experts must be treated as a strategic asset of the Republic.
At the same time, the experience of existing personnel should be preserved wherever that experience is professional and useful to the state.
This is not about destroying the old and building everything from zero.
It is about combining the valuable experience of the past with the technology and knowledge of the twenty-first century.
That should be the objective.
A SHISH that understands Albania’s territory, but also understands the world.
A SHISH that has experienced intelligence officers, but also specialists in artificial intelligence.
A SHISH that knows how to collect information, but above all knows how to analyze it.
A SHISH that cooperates closely with its allies, while preserving Albania’s sovereign decision-making.
A SHISH that is strong against threats, but constrained by law.
A SHISH that is confidential, but not political.
This is the institutional standard Albania should seek.
Reforming SHISH is not merely reforming one institution. It is reforming an important part of Albania’s national-security architecture.
And if Albania wants to be a serious European state and a reliable Euro-Atlantic ally, it must also have an intelligence service worthy of that role.
The time for deep, professional and legally grounded reform of SHISH is now.
By Flamur Buçpapaj
