W. T. Smith, Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2003, "cover", p. 67 ([Internet, 2018-04-13](https://books.google.ch/books?id=1Jc9wBsImOIC&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=cover+background+story+intelligence+agent&source=bl&ots=PeidIgyciG&sig=_sDsK1IRw_Xy2os_NTtVJBegnj4&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi4mdSRkrfaAhXEIpoKHeRYAQ44ChDoAQhKMAU#v=onepage&q=cover%20background%20story%20intelligence%20agent&f=false))
USG: also used in the context of undercover investigation; EXP: term used by CIA officers and members of other intelligence services to describe a given, prearranged story that conceals either the name and background of an operative, or the title and raison d'être of a clandestine organisation
W. T. Smith, Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2003, "cover", p. 67 ([Internet, 2018-04-13](https://books.google.ch/books?id=1Jc9wBsImOIC&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=cover+background+story+intelligence+agent&source=bl&ots=PeidIgyciG&sig=_sDsK1IRw_Xy2os_NTtVJBegnj4&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi4mdSRkrfaAhXEIpoKHeRYAQ44ChDoAQhKMAU#v=onepage&q=cover%20background%20story%20intelligence%20agent&f=false))