[Psitticine]

Counter-intel seems to be an ongoing thing, meant to be run concurrently with offensive operations.

IOW, you aren't really suddenly establishing a fence when you complete the project. Instead, you are continually devoting that much time and resources (intel points) to counter-intelligence operations, and those operations are in place as soon as you start the project and Last until it is finished.

I know that the few times I've had enemy nations use intelligence ops against me, they were being stopped by my counter-intelligence all the way through the "development" time for the counter-intel project.

I think all they've really done is make it so counter-intelligence programs are being run longer by default.