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.
1,805 Articles

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?

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…

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. 

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. 

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.

“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…

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?

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…

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 --…

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…

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…

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.