About the program

What is Intelexit?

Intelexit is an initiative that motivates and supports people working in the secret services to quit their jobs, mostly for ethical reasons.

Why?

Many employees of the secret services experience moral distress when they witness or inadvertently become part of crimes, lies and abuses. These people typically have no support networks to lean on and cannot talk about their concerns with anyone. They might think about leaving their job but are unsure how to go about it or where to seek advice, without jeopardizing their career or relationships.

What Intelexit does

Intelexit is first and foremost a campaign to show the human side of surveillance. We reach out to spies through public communications campaigns and also offer more individual consultation.

What we can offer

  • A caring human at the end of the encrypted channel of communication to us.
  • An attempt to support whoever contacts us by matching them with the relevant experts on legal, psychological and whistleblowing matters related to a potential exit.
  • Publishing information as we find it to help people who have questions or need help deciding.

What we cannot offer

  • A platform or assistance with whistlebblowing or leaks (although we can recommend who can help with that)
  • A retreat house in the mountains where spies can recuperate.
  • Guaranteed global help for anyone who contacts us.

Getting in touch

For a first assessment of potential support measures, we rely on enough information about individual needs and context. Of course it is crucial that anyone from the intelligence community reaching out to us makes sure to use secure communication if they don't want their departments to know about it.

An Intelexit drone dropping advertising material over Dagger Complex, US military base, Darmstadt, Germany.

The story of Intelexit

Intelexit was started by activists from Peng! Collective in September 2015 as a media campaign with public support from ex-NSA officer Thomas Drake. The campaign was so successful that Intelexit is now building a community of people who want to support.

What the press says

Test your ethics! Do you actually want to leave?

Fill in the form and generate your resignation letter.

The intelligence agency I work for...

Working in intelligence makes me feel...

The current structure of intelligence...

Abuses of intelligence result in...

I disagree with mass surveillance because it...

Congratulations!

You made it!

not convinced?
here are 6 arguments for an exit.

How to exit

Make a decision

Assess your own values against the activities of your organisation. If you find a deep dissonance there, you need to ask yourself how long you can tolerate it. Allow yourself to imagine an alternative, a life of self-assuredness and authenticity. Exit now!

Public or private exit?

Decide if you want to leave quietly or if you want to expose the wrongdoings you have witnessed. If you choose to share information, you should think carefully who you give it to and only communicate about this through secure channels. Please consider consulting an organisation specialized in handling and protecting whistleblowers like Wikileaks and Courage Foundation.

Seek advice and support

Study the examples of people who have left before you and learn from their mistakes. Consult your trusted friends and family outside of the intelligence community who know you well and can support you through this process. Seek legal counsel too, whether you are planning to whistleblow or not. Contact us for advice.

Plan the future

What comes next? You could ask for a transfer to another civil service body or have a completely clean break with a new job. Take your time to build up your future and the support networks you will need to live an ethical and rewarding life. Read our FAQ!

Start a new life

Your resignation letter is handed in. Your last days in intelligence are counted: bake a cake for your colleagues and have a goodbye-party. Begin your new life without paranoia, distrust and mystery-mongering.

Become an Intelexit ambassador!

Your experience during your exit are essential. Help others in the intelligence community to leave. Talk about your reasons. Convince others.

Frequently Asked Questions

Connect with us

about us

Intelexit is an initiative that motivates and supports people working in the secret services to quit their jobs, mostly for ethical reasons.

We do not collect personal data. This website does not track your browsing behavior.

The Intelexit Foundation
c/o Peng! Collective
Lausitzer Straße 10
10999 Berlin
Germany

reach out to us

If you are thinking about leaving the intelligence community, reach out to us!

We ask you to comply with a minimum of secure communications. You can contact us through PGP on:

 exit@intelexit.org (PGP key ID: CD7C F92A A24C 961C BFF5 3194 CEC5 FB38 282F 5DCA)

Press contact

We welcome press enquiries to further spread our message and reach our target audience. Contact us by phone or email.

 pressinfo@intelexit.org (PGP key ID: B7AE 9965 657B 190B EC17 ED6C 2DF3 2E31 A743 63CF)

 brochure for intelligence officers

 Files for press information

 Photos