cryptonyms
Covert identity labels
Cryptonyms are code names or secret names used to conceal the identity of a person, operation, or project, especially in intelligence and military contexts.
The CIA famously assigned cryptonyms to covert operations and foreign assets during the Cold War.
Unlike pseudonyms, which may be publicly known pen names, cryptonyms are meant to remain classified.
The spy's cryptonym was known only to three people in the agency.
Secret identity designations
- aliasesAlternate assumed identities
- cover namesFalse identities used operationally
- CIAU.S. foreign intelligence service
- KGBUSSR intelligence service
agents · operatives · classified · covert · handlers · moles · assets · tradecraft
Fictitious adopted names
- nom de guerreAssumed military identity
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- partisansStaunch factional supporters
codebreakers · Bletchley Park · Enigma · wartime · Cold War · Manhattan Project · secret identities · occupied territories
Account login identifiers
- handlesGrasping parts or manages
- screen namesUser-chosen online identities
- anonymityUnknown identity state
- pseudonymousUsing a false name
dark web · hacking · cybersecurity · VPN · Tor · burner accounts · digital identity · privacy
Strategically planned
- classified operationsSecret government activities
- special forcesElite unconventional warfare troops
- strategicDeliberately planned for advantage
- combatArmed hostile engagement
joint operations · command · radio silence · operational security · briefings · debriefings · reconnaissance · insertions
code names
Secret identity designations
- aliasesAlternate assumed identities
- cover namesFalse identities used operationally
- CIAU.S. foreign intelligence service
KGB · agents · operatives · classified · covert · handlers · moles · assets · tradecraft · intelligence
pseudonyms
Fictitious adopted names
- nom de guerreAssumed military identity
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
partisans · codebreakers · Bletchley Park · Enigma · wartime · Cold War · Manhattan Project · secret identities · occupied territories · double lives
usernames
Account login identifiers
- handlesGrasping parts or manages
- screen namesUser-chosen online identities
- anonymityUnknown identity state
pseudonymous · dark web · hacking · cybersecurity · VPN · Tor · burner accounts · digital identity · privacy · obfuscation
tactical
Strategically planned
- classified operationsSecret government activities
- special forcesElite unconventional warfare troops
- strategicDeliberately planned for advantage
combat · joint operations · command · radio silence · operational security · briefings · debriefings · reconnaissance · insertions
cryptonymstrue names
Authentic identifying words
legal names · given names · birth names · proper names · baptismal names
cryptic, anonymous, pseudonym, decrypt, encryption, encrypt, cryptically, encrypted, cryptography