Intelligence & Surveillance

Just Security’s expert authors provide legal and policy analysis of intelligence and surveillance activities, focusing on their impact on national security and on civil liberties and privacy rights, and their oversight by Congress and the courts.

Highlights:

Abstract image of human eye with retinal circuit on a black background.

Weaponizing the Espionage Act: What It Means for Whistleblowers, Reporters, and Democracy

How the Trump administration could weaponize the Espionage Act and its chilling effect to control the press and justify suppression.
Collage of images pertaining to artificial intelligence

Just Security’s Artificial Intelligence Archive

Just Security's collection of articles analyzing the implications of AI for society, democracy, human rights, and warfare.
Federal agents keep protestors back from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility

When Deference is No Longer Due

Reasons for historical deference to the executive branch's judgement in matters of national security and foreign affairs have been severely undermined.
Police maintain a presence outside a command center holding evacuated students following the lockdown of the school after a call of an active shooter on March 29, 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Many schools, including Oakland Catholic and Pittsburgh Central Catholic, were targeted as part of what authorities are calling "computer-generated swatting calls." Many agencies, including state and municipal police, are conducting investigations. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Swatting Attacks and Nihilistic Violent Extremism: A Primer

Swatting attacks are sometimes dismissed as pranks or hoaxes. But they’ve wreaked havoc on college campuses this year and a network of extremists is behind many of them.
A faceless hacker running malware on a laptop

The Rome Statute in the Digital Age: Confronting Emerging Cyber Threats

For the Rome Statute to remain relevant, practitioners must understand how governments can deploy spyware to commit international crimes.
A woman is detained by federal agents

The U.S. Deportation Industrial Complex: Arrests and Detention by the Numbers

Detaining citizens & immigrants without a public safety rationale is inconsistent with American values and wastes of taxpayer money.
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Seal of the Foreign Malign Influence Center (Wikimedia Commons)

What Just Happened? Dismantling the Intelligence Community’s Foreign Malign Influence Center

Director of National Intelligence Gabbard is dismantling the last government unit tracking and analyzing State-sponsored interference in U.S. institutions, elections, and society.
The Just Security Podcast

The Just Security Podcast: What Just Happened — John Bolton Search Warrants

Mary McCord and Zachary Myers join David Aaron to discuss search warrants executed last week at former National Security Advisor John Bolton's office and residence.
Visualization of cybersecurity

Unlocking Justice: A Policy Roadmap for Victims of Spyware

To introduce accountability for cyberattacks, Congress should make it clear that U.S. courts are the right venue for spyware cases.
A retro computer encircled by CCTV cameras

Legal Frameworks for Addressing Spyware Harms

Introducing a new series on accountability for spyware harms convened by the Atlantic Council in partnership with Just Security.
The United States Capital with a backdrop of a digital canvas

Harnessing the Transformative Potential of AI in Intelligence Analysis

AI is a transformative force, poised to revolutionize how intelligence is collected, analyzed, and operationalized.
US President President Donald Trump tours a migrant detention center

Big Budget Act Creates a ‘Deportation Industrial Complex’ That Will be Hard to Dismantle

An assessment of how DHS and ICE will spend new funds and the balance between deportation enforcement and the system's humanitarian goals and proper legal process.
Demonstrators take part in a protest in front of the European Commission representation in Warsaw demanding more restrictive sanctions against Russia and arms supplies for Ukraine on January 8, 2024. (Photo by WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s Time to Designate The Base as an FTO

With increasing violent extremism and waning DOJ interest in curbing far-right extremism, a failure to address the threats posed by The Base could prove fatal.
Visualization of a man in front of data

The Real National Security Betrayal Isn’t Who Leaves—It’s What Gets Dismantled

The real national security threat from the Trump administration's civil service purges isn’t who might go rogue—it’s the dismantling of the systems built to prevent betrayal.
People embrace near federal agents blocking a road during an ICE immigration raid

Understanding DHS’s and ICE’s New Powers in Comparative Perspective

Highlights of podcast discussion by experts on DHS, DOJ and Congress.
The Just Security Podcast

The Just Security Podcast: What Just Happened, The Budget Bill and the Future of DHS and ICE

Host David Aaron is joined by Steve Cash to discuss institutional constraints on the FBI and law enforcement agencies compared to DHS.
Taliban security personnel keep watch after the Eid al-Adha prayers at a checkpoint in Kabul on June 7, 2025. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

The Taliban’s Slow Dismantling of Afghan Media

The slow death of Afghan media is a tragedy not just for the many brave Afghan journalists, but for the country as a whole.
The US Department of Homeland Security building

Incoming DHS Intelligence Lead Promotes Unlawful Activities

The public, Congress, and the media should insist that the DHS's domestic intelligence practices be sunset, rather than expanded.
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