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

Launch Event – Low-Hanging Fruit: Evidence Based Solutions to the Digital Evidence Challenge
Tomorrow morning (Wednesday, July 25), from 8-10 am ET, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse — along with DOJ’s former Assistant Attorney General for National Security, David Kris…

The Real Target of Trump’s Security Clearance Threats
I can’t believe I’m writing a column in defense of former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former National Security…

Tech Pressure on Privacy: National Security Requires a Fuller View of Corporate Social Responsibility
The corporate world and the U.S. national security apparatus increasingly find themselves in conflict over technology and expertise, with implications for the effectiveness of…

Cybersecurity and the 2020 Census: Are We Prepared?
A U.S. Census Bureau employee uses a UNIVAC 1105 computer to tabulate data following the 1960 Census. Image: U.S. government via Wikimedia Commons. Just Security readers may find…

Exclusive: Trump White House’s Intelligence Chief Is Leaving
Michael Barry is the latest staffer on the powerful council to depart as National Security Adviser John Bolton brings on his own team.

Carpenter Ruling Brings Us Back From Brink of Orwellian Surveillance State
Orwell described a world where limitless surveillance makes us question every action, every thought. Last Friday’s decision in Carpenter v. United States brought us one step…

The Broad Reach of Carpenter v. United States
By focusing on the nature of the information rather than on the telecommunications nitty-gritty used to gather the information or the structure of the database in which the information…

What Is the Next Line of Defense Against Torture?
Gina Haspel’s recent elevation to director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) despite her involvement in the George W. Bush administration’s prisoner abuse program and…

Trump as a Russian Target – Through the Eyes of a former CIA Russian Expert
Donald Trump would have been an active target of Russian intelligence since the moment they laid eyes on him for two reasons that come straight from the classical espionage textbook:…

Exigent Circumstances: iOS 12’s USB Restricted Mode and Warrantless iPhone Access
Apple recently confirmed the introduction of a new feature called “USB Restricted Mode” in the latest version of the iPhone’s mobile operating system, iOS 12. If enabled…

Dangerous Drone Bill Emerges from Senate Committee
It’s rare that a congressional committee tasked with overseeing homeland security approves a bill that would not only authorize sweeping surveillance, but also could pose a significant…

Testimony from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Hearing on Election Interference
Ryan Goodman, Just Security‘s co-editor-in-chief, is testifying on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of its hearing on, “Election Interference:…