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.
1,837 Articles

The Méndez Principles: A New Standard for Effective Interviewing by Police and Others, While Respecting Human Rights
Former UN Rapporteur on Torture says interrogations that reject coercive and abusive methods and build rapport are necessary and achievable.

The Méndez Principles: Leadership to Transform Interrogation via Science, Law, and Ethics
New guidance points the way to scientifically sound, lawful, human rights-compliant, and effective practices.

A New Consensus Around Transparency and National Security Surveillance
Civil libertarian arguments that were dismissed a decade ago are now broadly accepted, even at the highest levels of the intelligence community.

The New Cyber Executive Order is a Good Start, But Needs a Supercharge from Congress
Implementation can strengthen the data contractors have to provide. And Congress should pass legislation to apply these measures across the economy.

Giuliani’s FARA Problem
Rudy Giuliani's communications – in the form of emails, WhatsApp messages, and phone logs between Giuliani and his associates – show that, in seeking Yovanovitch’s removal,…

Stopping Torture: Why Professional Governance Failed, and How It Can Do Better
Professionals -- psychologists, physicians, lawyers -- played key parts in enabling post-9/11 torture programs. Yet professionalism can also constrain state power. Gregg Bloche…

Hack-to-Patch by Law Enforcement Is a Dangerous Practice
Recent so-called hack-to-patch activity by law enforcement sets a dangerous precedent for the global business community. Serious security, technical, and policy drawbacks emerge…

Key Takeaways From Latest FISA Court Opinion on Section 702 and FBI Warrantless Queries
A recently declassified FISA Court opinion shows how serious the threat is that Section 702 could be exploited as a loophole for warrantless surveillance in domestic policing.

Federal Agencies Face April Deadline on Secret JFK Files
Congress has mandated that agencies update the public on thousands of files related to the JFK assassination by April 26. Previous disclosures have been incomplete. Will agencies…

The Public Should Have Access to the Surveillance Court’s Opinions
For decades, a special court—the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or “FISC”—has issued secret legal opinions authorizing the U.S. government to conduct sweeping…

SolarWinds: Accountability, Attribution, and Advancing the Ball
Assessing the United States' actions on SolarWinds and what it means for global responses to malicious cyber activities in future.

We’re From the Government, We’re Here to Help: The FBI and the Microsoft Exchange Hack
In a recent operation, the FBI removed malware from hacked Microsoft Exchange servers, and only attempted to notify the servers’ owners after the fact. This approach is almost…