GCHQ Government Communications HQ (UK equivalent of NSA) [UK]
GCSE General Certificate of Secondary Education-high school qualification; not to be confused with CESG [UK]
GRU Russian Military Intelligence [Russia]
HMG Her Majesty's Government [UK]
JIC Joint Intelligence Committee [UK]
KCMG Knight-Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George-honours service overseas or in connection with foreign or Commonwealth affairs [UK]
KGB Committee for State Security, renamed FSB in 1991 [Russia]
LART Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool-see The New Hacker's Dictionary, edited by Eric S. Raymond, MIT Press, ISBN 0-262680-92-0 [All]
THE LAUNDRY Formerly SOE Q Department, spun off as a separate organisation in 1945 [UK]
MI5 National Security Service, also known as DI5 [UK]
MI6 Secret Intelligence Service, also known as SIS, DI6 [UK]
NEST Nuclear Emergency Search Team (US equivalent of OCCULUS) [US]
NKVD Historical predecessor organisation to KGB, renamed in 1947 [USSR/Russia]
NSA National Security Agency (US equivalent of GCHQ) [US]
NSDAP Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei-National Socialist German Workers Party, aka Nazi Party [Germany]
OBE Order of the British Empire-awarded mainly to civilians and service personnel for public service or other distinctions [UK]
OCCULUS Occult Control Coordination Unit Liaison, Unconventional Situations (UK/NATO equivalent of NEST) [UK/NATO]
ONI Office of Naval Intelligence [US]
OSA Official Secrets Act, the law governing official secrets [UK]
OSS Office of Strategic Services (US equivalent of SOE), disbanded in 1945, remodelled as CIA [US]
Q DIVISION Division within The Laundry associated with R amp;D [UK]
QINETIQ See DERA [UK]
RIPA Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, the law governing communications interception [UK]
RUC Royal Ulster Constabulary, the paramilitary police force deployed in Northern Ireland during the Troubles [UK]
SAS Special Air Service-British Army special forces [UK]
SBS Special Boat Service-Royal Marines special forces [UK]
SIS See MI6 [UK]
SOE Special Operations Executive (UK equivalent of OSS), officially disbanded in 1945; see also The Laundry [UK]
TLA Three Letter Acronym [All]