The service performs intelligence at the request of the President and the Minister of State Security.
Prior to 2009, the Service was a self-governing organisation which was a member of the National Intelligence Co-Ordinating Committee (NICOC).
[5] In August 2013, the Minister for State Security, Siyabonga Cwele, announced the new foreign intelligence Director as Batandwa Siswana.
However, when taking current South African policy and concerns into account, it appears the attentions of the SASS are currently focused on two main areas: The activities of Al-Qaeda and similar groups abroad in relation to South Africa's security, and the activities of illegal South African mercenaries, most especially in parts of Africa and Iraq.
The SASS appear in the 2017–2018 Millarworld comic book series Kingsman: The Red Diamond, primarily embodied by Agent Kwaito.