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.
1,807 Articles
NYPD Spy Drones Fly into Privacy Headwinds
A squad of 14 New York Police Department drones will soon be soaring over the city’s skyline, with the ability to record people’s lives, even if that’s not their stated…
Western Covert Action and Russian Active Measures: Hypocrisy or Divergent Values?
Most Americans now realize the Kremlin has attempted to influence, interfere, and subvert our democratic system. Recent reports even suggest the Russian intelligence services may…
Norms Watch: Damage to Democracy and Rule of Law in December 2018
Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of those norms in reactions…
Give Up the Ghost: A Backdoor by Another Name
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ,) the UK’s counterpart to the National Security Agency (NSA), has fired the latest shot in the crypto wars. In a post to Lawfare…
Russia’s Tightening Control of Cyberspace Within its Borders
Russian proposals to ban certain materials online and to block search engines that don’t comply with requests of state authorities highlight the need to beware of domestic policies…
Flynn’s Work as Turkey’s Agent While a Transition Official: Judge Sullivan Was at Least Half Right
Michael Flynn may have been working as an unregistered agent of Turkey while serving the United States in an official capacity after all, depending simply on how you define his…
The UK Government’s Weak Response to Torture Reports
The UK government has published its response to two reports published this summer by the UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) on “Detainee Mistreatment…
Declassify the Khashoggi Assessment
George W. Bush declassified inconvenient facts about Iran. The Trump administration should tell the public what CIA knows about Khashoggi.
George H.W. Bush’s Persian Gulf War: Victory, With Tragedy
Most tributes on the passing of George H.W. Bush from across the American political spectrum have used some variation of the word “honorable” or “decent” to describe the…
Trump Administration Must Publicly Disclose the Truth About Khashoggi Murder
The Open Society Justice Initiative has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the CIA and other federal agencies seeking the disclosure of all records relating to the…
Why Americans Should Care About Mueller’s Counterintelligence Probe—Aside from any Criminal or Political Implications
Stephanie Douglas, former Executive Assistant Director for the National Security Branch of the FBI, writes that Mueller's core mission is obscured by media focus on criminal and…
Americans Have Right to Know if US Failed to Warn Khashoggi—A New Lawsuit May Get Answers
Now is a good time to return to the question what the US government knew about Saudi plot beforehand. A lawsuit may answer that question.