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.
1,846 Articles
Bugs, Bounties, and Blowback
Last week news broke of a major software bug—now termed “Shellshock”—in open-source software used in Linux and UNIX operating systems. Security experts have warned that…
It’s Time to Pass the USA Freedom Act—Warts and All
Thirteen years after 9/11, the United States Congress appeared poised to begin the long overdue process of reining-in the intelligence establishment’s runaway surveillance practices.…
The Need for Both Legal and Technical Privacy Protections
Last week, Apple and Google came under intense criticism from the law enforcement and national security communities for their decisions to encrypt user data when devices are locked.…
FBI is Hurting Apple and Google’s Competitiveness with Crypto Backdoor Demands
Last week, FBI Director James B. Comey dispatched his minions to yell at Apple and Google for architecting their smartphones such that government officials cannot decrypt information…
A Briefing on European Developments in Accounting for and Advancing Counterterrorism Actions
Fallout from European action during the “War on Terror” is ongoing in national and regional courts. The European Court of Human Rights has taken up a number of cases…
Australia Introduces Foreign Fighter Bill on Eve of Obama Chairing UNSC Meeting on Foreign Fighters
The Australian Government introduced a proposed law on Sept. 22 aimed at preventing Australian residents from traveling abroad to join terrorist organizations. Called the Counter-Terrorism…
United States Stops Spying on Western Europe—for Now
The CIA has paused its espionage activities against “friendly governments in Western Europe,” according to a report by the Associated Press and ABC News that broke on Sept.…
A Year of Great Debates on National Security Law at the Just Security Blog
September 23, 2014 marks the official birthdate of Just Security. It has been a terrific first year! Our goal has been to raise and broaden the conversation on U.S. national security…
Reading Jack Goldsmith’s STELLARWIND Memo (Part II)
Last week, I tried to read between the lines of Jack Goldsmith’s 2004 memorandum on the STELLARWIND surveillance program to explain why the bulk collection of Internet metadata…
Justice Department Proposal Would Massively Expand FBI Extraterritorial Surveillance
A Department of Justice proposal to amend Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure would make it easier for domestic law enforcement to hack into computers of people…
The Posse Comitatus Act, Unlawful Surveillance, and the Exclusionary Rule
Most students of U.S. national security law are familiar with the Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) — an 1878 statute that subjects to criminal punishment anyone who, “except…
The Erosion of a Secret
Drone Timeline (Click to Enlarge) In connection with an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the CIA has…