The aim of the article is to show activities taking place in current international politics, bearing the hallmarks of intelligence activities using secret operations with the use of tools typical of terrorist activities. The research problem of the work was defined in the form of a question: how intelligence activities are used in the scope of intelligence activities of state services? The research hypothesis put forward in the text indicates that there are connections between intelligence activities and the activities of state intelligence services. Events from recent years and those that are still ongoing (e.g. Houthi activity in the Red Sea) will be analyzed on the basis of press materials, as it is currently not possible to research them on the basis of official documents of state authorities. The research methodology adopted in the article is primarily an analysis of press materials and scientific literature relating to secret intelligence operations and terrorist activities. The case study method was also used. The article is interested in intelligence institutions as state services. The definition of intelligence was adopted as a state institution carrying out not only information activities but also non-information activities with the characteristics of terrorist activities. The analysis of available press materials showed that in the current international space there are examples of activities that may have the nature of secret operations. These include: Iran’s actions supporting Hamas and Hesbollah; Iran’s support for Houthi activities in the Red Sea and many actions of Russian services in the context of weakening Ukraine and European countries. It is currently not possible to make categorical statements in this area and it may take years and many efforts to prove the symptoms resulting from the definition of covert operations. This results, among others, from due to the lack of availability of reliable and confirmed data on the actual contractors for these activities. Moreover, the article indicates the directions of activities of state institutions that can actually support the recognition and counteracting of secret operations using terrorist activities.