Clandestine cell system
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A clandestine cell system is a method for organizing a group of people such as resistance fighters, sleeper agents, or terrorists so that such people can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization (such as law enforcement).
In a cell structure, each of the small group of people in the cell only know the identities of the people in their cell. Thus, a cell member who is apprehended and interrogated (or who is a mole) will not likely know the identities of the higher-ranking individuals in the organization.
The structure of a clandestine cell system can range from a strict hierarchy to an extremely distributed organization, depending on the group's ideology, its operational area, the communications technologies available, and the nature of the mission.
This sort of organizational structure is also used by criminal organizations, undercover operations, and unconventional warfare units led by special forces.
See also