Counter intelligence protects intelligence collection activities and plans, programs, and projects from adversaries.
Often, this area of endeavor will involve security and information technology, but others are often overlooked, such as hiring and firing strategies, to contain competitor opportunities within the firm.
Many companies will unveil new products or release certain information for the sole purpose of getting the competition to move in a certain way.
After evaluating the competitive reaction, the company abandons or changes its original intentions.
This strategy of sending signals before you really intend to act is an effective way of gauging the competition before you invest heavily in a new venture. This can be important where innovation is high and product life cycles are extremely short (such as technology).