The article analyses the systemic framework of the operation of the Intelligence and Security Service of the Ministry of Defence (Obvescevalnovarnostna sluzba OVS) and parliamentary control over its operations. It takes as its focus a recent case related to the Defence Minister's order to the Service to produce material on the effects of the privatisation of the Telekom Slovenije on the operation of the Service in the light of Slovenia's defence interests. A linguostylistic analysis of the media reporting on the case was carried out. The findings show that while after 25 years as an independent state Slovenia has established the institutional framework for the operation of OVS and arranged parliamentary control over its work, it has not as yet managed to achieve the harmonised operation of all state policies in the field of national security. Rather than contributing to the resolution of certain dilemmas with regard to the legal, political and expert aspects of the operation of the civil intelligence and security service in the context of Slovenian national defence, media reporting used a selection of topicalized linguistic means (actualisms, i.e. stylistically marked linguistic means) in headlines to characterise the event as a scandal, and the OVS as a military intelligence service.