National Security Advisor of Iraq

The Iraqi government's national security advisor serves as the principal body responsible for providing counsel on national security matters to the state’s leadership. It formulates and coordinates security policy across ministries, intelligence agencies, and defence establishments, aiming to align efforts in safeguarding Iraq’s sovereignty and internal stability. The advisor’s remit includes assessing threats, advising on crisis management, and facilitating inter‑agency cooperation to address both conventional and emerging security challenges. As a senior governmental office, it operates under the authority of the Iraqi executive branch and reports directly to the highest levels of political leadership. Its work encompasses strategic planning, risk evaluation, and the integration of intelligence inputs into policy decisions that affect national defence and public safety. The office also engages with international partners on security cooperation, reflecting Iraq’s broader diplomatic and defence engagements. While its specific organisational structure is not detailed in the source material, its function as a national security advisor places it at the centre of the country’s security apparatus.

The advisor’s prominence was highlighted in a 2018 cyber incident in which hackers acting in Turkey’s interests targeted multiple governments and organisations across Europe and the Middle East, including the Iraqi national security advisor’s infrastructure. The campaign employed DNS hijacking to redirect victims to fraudulent sites, enabling the theft of credentials from email services, cloud storage, and security networks. Victims ranged from government ministries and embassies to intelligence agencies and civilian entities, with compromised systems extending to non‑classified networks. Western security officials linked the activity to Turkish state‑backed espionage based on victim profiles, infrastructure similarities to prior Turkish operations, and confidential intelligence, although Turkey denied involvement and noted its own exposure to cyber threats. The incident underscored the advisor’s role as a high‑value target in regional cyber‑espionage landscapes and illustrated the intersection of national security functions with contemporary digital threats. No explicit data on the advisor’s size, budget, or staffing is provided in the available sources.