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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1,837 Articles
Don McGahn, general counsel for the Trump transition team, gets into an elevator in the lobby at Trump Tower, November 15, 2016 in New York City.

Former Prosecutor Renato Mariotti’s Tweet Threads on National Security (Nov. 25-Dec. 1)

Here is an exposition and analysis of some of this week’s national security-related threads authored by Just Security Editorial Board member and former federal prosecutor Renato…
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a podium as Mike Pompeo and wife Susan Pompeo stand next to him during a swearing in ceremony for Pompeo to become CIA Director at Eisenhower Executive Office Building January 23, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Iran Policy Implications of Replacing Tillerson with Pompeo and Cotton to CIA

The White House has created a plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with current CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and then nominate Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to replace Pompeo…

The Supreme Court May Be Ready to Further Limit Warrantless Access to Communications

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Carpenter v. United States, a case involving the privacy of cell phone location information. At issue is whether the government…

Don’t Fall for the Hype: How the FBI’s Use of Section 702 Surveillance Data Really Works

All the cool kids these days oppose the FBI’s so-called “backdoor search loophole,” which allows it to query information obtained under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence…
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Episode 47 of the National Security Law Podcast: Donuts and Depth Charges

And…we’re back! Fresh off of Thanksgiving, Professor Chesney and I are (all too) fired up to discuss the latest national security law news (not to mention a bunch of stuff…
A person’s hand holds an iPhone. The screen shows a lock screen and asks to “Touch ID or Enter Passcode”

Where Does the Trump Administration Stand on Encryption?

The circumstances are familiar: a deceased criminal, a locked phone, a determined FBI and a defiant tech company. After Devin Kelley murdered 26 people at the Sutherland Springs…
A general view of the 24 hour Operations Room inside GCHQ, which Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne was shown by of Director of GCHQ Robert Hannigan and Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk on November 17, 2015 in Cheltenham, England. Two large TV screens rest on a wall, and three people sit in front of computers each with two screens.

The “Backdoor Search Loophole” Isn’t Our Only Problem: The Dangers of Global Information Sharing

The upcoming expiration of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has launched a fresh wave of debate on how the statute’s “backdoor search loophole”…
Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, U.S. national security advisor, arrives to a swearing in ceremony of White House senior staff in the East Room of the White House on January 22, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Flynn’s Turkish Delight: How, Why, and When He Reversed His Policy Positions on Turkey

Many commentators anticipate that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will likely indict retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn in part for the former National Security Advisor’s…

“Fixes” to Surveillance Law Could Severely Harm FBI National Security Investigations

A core national security law allowing the government to collect intelligence information—Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act—is set to expire at the end…
U.S. border official Marshall Walcer inspects the identification of a Mexican citizen at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing on December 10, 2010 in Nogales, Arizona. Others wait on line in the background.

Extreme Vetting by Algorithm

Last week, a group of machine learning and data mining experts wrote to the acting secretary of DHS urging her to reconsider an automated Extreme Vetting Initiative being proposed…

Hacking Back in Black: Legal and Policy Concerns with the Updated Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act

For years now, there has been a discussion surrounding the feasibility of active cyber defense, and allowing private entities or individuals to “hack back” against hostile…
Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee November 14, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Former Prosecutor Renato Mariotti’s Tweet Threads on National Security (Nov. 10-17)

Here is an exposition and analysis of some of this week’s national security-related threads authored by Just Security Editorial Board member and former federal prosecutor…
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