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
Huawei Hacking is a Security Scandal
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that people who are neither naïve nor who hate freedom can reasonably disagree with Edward Lucas and his post from this morning…
International Proscriptions on Mass Surveillance (or What’s Missing in the Greenwald vs. Wittes Debate)
[Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, Ben Wittes and Ashley Deeks over at Lawfare replied to the following post. And Ryan has since posted a rejoinder to Ben and Ashley.] This weekend’s…
The So-Called Huawei Scandal and the Snowden Operation
We should spy on China. And Russia. And Iran. And plenty of other countries too. They are our political, diplomatic and economic competitors and enemies. And they spy on us. If…
Is the ODNI Approach to Secrecy and Transparency Evolving?
We flagged this yesterday afternoon on Just Security’s Twitter account, but nevertheless, it is helpful to include a reference here on the pages of the blog as well. Yesterday,…
PCLOB Hearing on Section 702 Authorities
Today, the PLCOB is holding a hearing on programs authorized under Section 702 of FISA. The hearing can be watched live on C-SPAN2. Written testimony of the witnesses is linked…
Coverage of the U.S. Proceedings Before the Human Rights Committee Available
A video archive of the United States proceedings before the Human Rights Committee in Geneva is now available here. The Committee released its summary of the proceedings, which…
DiFi vs CIA
More than a few folks have commented on the irony of Sen. Dianne Feinstein—perhaps the most vigorous defender of NSA’s controversial surveillance programs—flipping into…
How President Obama can fulfill his promise to end bulk collection of telephone metadata, while preserving intelligence capabilities
On January 17, President Obama promised to end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of metadata on Americans’ phone calls under “section 215” (which is really…
Caroline Krass Confirmed as CIA General Counsel
I am delighted to report that the Senate just confirmed my friend and former colleague Caroline Krass to be General Counsel at the CIA, by a vote of 95-4. (“No” votes…
Debating “The Snowden Operation”: A Victory for Privacy Rights or for Russia?
A Debate between Edward Lucas, Senior Editor of The Economist and author of “The Snowden Operation: Inside the West’s Greatest Intelligence Disaster“ and Stephen Holmes,…
Rep. Schiff Op-Ed in NYT: moving drone program from CIA to JSOC would result in more transparency — But is he right?
Today, Representative Adam Schiff has an opinion piece in the New York Times where he advocates that Congress should allow the President to move the drone program from the CIA…
The United States’ Position on Extraterritoriality: The Time For Change Is Now
[Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the extraterritorial application of human rights treaties in light of the release of two State Department memos and…