The Bureau, more formally known as the Bureau of Operations, functioned as a division within the Galactic Empire's Imperial Intelligence. Its purpose was to manage significant clandestine activities that fell outside the capabilities of regional departments. Its duties were diverse, encompassing observation of adversaries, oversight of industry and trade, matters of diplomacy, and, on occasion, the undermining of organizations and execution of assassinations.
The initial reference to the Bureau of Operations within the updated Star Wars canon appeared in Dawn of Rebellion. This was a supplementary resource for the Star Wars Roleplaying game, brought to the public by Fantasy Flight Games in 2018. A similar organization, the Bureau, was also present in the Star Wars Legends timeline. It was first established in the 1989 Imperial Sourcebook, created by Greg Gorden and released by West End Games, and it had a comparable function of conducting covert missions and intelligence gathering.