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.

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1,805 Articles
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December Brought Harbingers of the Regulation Social Media Companies Could Soon Face

Are the winds changing for data-intensive companies, and what is the prevailing mood of technology regulators on both sides of the Atlantic heading into 2021?
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The Promises of FOIA in 2021: A Ready Pathway to Accountability

It's not just a matter of choice for Biden admin. Here's what the Freedom of Information Act — and pending litigation — requires the executive branch to disclose about Trump…
A 3D illustration of binary numbers in blue waves. The numbers look like electronic lights.

SolarWinds as a Constitutive Moment: A New Agenda for the International Law of Intelligence

The SolarWinds hack could trigger fundamental changes in legal thought and state practice. Asaf Lubin sets out what that agenda can and should look like.
A SolarWinds sign and logo sits on top of the SolarWinds office building in Brno in the Czech Republic.

Top Expert Backgrounder: Russia’s SolarWinds Operation and International Law

A legal analysis of whether the SolarWinds cyber hack violated international law, and the U.S. government's response options.
Sticker messages placed on a fence by Thai student demonstrators are seen during a Milk Tea Alliance pro-democracy protest outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok on October 1, 2020. Some of the sticky-notes read, “Mulan Live is Not Mulan,” “Save Tzuyu!” “Respect Basic Human Rights,” and more.

As China Promotes Authoritarian Model, the Resilience of Its Democratic Targets is Key

Pro-democracy political leaders, activists, and media can build on their successes against such influence with help from the world’s leading democracies.
Trump and Putin’s silhouettes as they walk side-by-side.

“Strategic Silence” and State-Sponsored Hacking: The US Gov’t and SolarWinds

The absence to date of executive branch attribution and condemnation of the SolarWinds intrusions may be strategic silence—a tactic employed in the immediate aftermath of past…
The US Capitol Building is lit up at night.

Needed: A Whistleblower Protection Paradigm Shift

What should be done to provide truly meaningful and effective protections for government employees or contractors seeking to expose wrongdoing in the Intelligence Community?
Trump claps his hands at the Republican presidential nomination as son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner and children Eric and Ivanka Trump look on the South Lawn of the White House August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. None of them wear face masks.

We Can’t “Look Forward” on the Trump Administration’s Abuses

When President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January, he will confront a national economic crisis and a still out-of-control pandemic. He will also face questions about how to…
The White House, Washington, D.C.

Addressing Our Whole-of-Government Deficit in National Security

From Russ Travers who retired in July 2020 after a 42-year career in the Intelligence Community, having served in senior positions across multiple intelligence organizations --…
An engineer-virologist looks at 24 well plates adherent cells monolayer infected with a Sars-CoV-2 virus.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: Vaccine Theft, Disinformation, the Law Governing Cyber Operations

Ongoing cyberattacks on vaccine production and distribution systems, such as those discovered by IBM yesterday, may threaten efforts to fight COVID-19. But do they break international…
: Director of National Intelligence nominee Avril Haines speaks after being introduced by President-elect Joe Biden as he introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware.

How to Revitalize the Intelligence Community: A Long, But Essential To-Do List

The president-elect and his DNI should act promptly and assertively to reverse Trump’s mistreatment, revitalize Community morale, and, through aggressive but prudent investment…
A man crosses the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) seal in the lobby of CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, on August 14, 2008.

CIA Is Losing Its Best and Brightest and Not Just Because of Trump

In order to retain its best and brightest, CIA may need to part ways with some of its elders.
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