Ideas

Trump vs. the Spies

In this digital age, it is reasonable to ask just what America’s intelligence community still brings to the table. The answer is a lot.

Science & Tech

Are We In a New Era of Espionage?

One scholar compares it to the early Atomic Age, when members of Congress struggled to understand how nuclear weapons were changing diplomacy and war.

Science & Tech

The CIA’s Classified Cloud Is Reducing Tasks from Months to Minutes

Launched in April, the intelligence community's 10-year, $600 million Amazon-built infrastructure project is already producing results.

Threats

Obama Orders 10-Year ‘Deep Dive’ into Election Hacking

And he wants the intelligence community to deliver it before he leaves office.

Science & Tech

Under Trump, Tech Companies Brace for Fight Over Encryption

Supporters of strong encryption are watching closely to see if Trump will force tech firms to cooperate with law enforcement, or if his campaign rhetoric will soften once he’s in the White House.

Policy

Trump’s CIA Director Wants to Return to a Pre-Snowden World

He’s called for a 'fundamental upgrade' to U.S. spying powers.

Threats

The YouTube Effect: Intelligence Operations Move Out of the Shadows

The U.S. military’s intel chief describes a shift from “secret wars” to “low-visibility wars.”

Policy

Rep. Schiff: ‘Grave Concerns’ About Trump’s Relationship to America’s Intelligence Community

The House intelligence committee’s ranking member cites the president-elect’s contradiction of the IC’s consensus views.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon’s New Background Check System Won’t Be Ready for Nearly Two More Years

Though it could be completed as early as 18 months, the director of the new agency that manages the clearance process said Thursday.

Ideas

Is the CIA Ready for the Age of Cyberwar?

Behind the most sweeping reforms in the agency’s history—and their limits

Ideas

The Next President’s Headaches, According to America’s Top Spy

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper discusses emerging challenges in U.S.-Russian relations, cybersecurity, and how his office views North Korea’s nuclear program.

Science & Tech

How One Intelligence Agency Is Opening Up to Startups

A invitation from the Pentagon's mapping arm could be the first of more outreach to early-stage private-sector companies.

Science & Tech

The US Needs One Cyber Defense Agency—Not Three, a Top NSA Official Says

With the job divided between NSA, FBI, and DHS, 'we need to rethink how we do cyber defense as a nation.'

Science & Tech

Got Something to Sell to the Pentagon? It's About to Get Easier

A new office just opened to help the Defense Department's high-tech agency buy more easily from first-time sellers.

Ideas

The Pentagon's Mapmakers Want to Offer Customers an Amazon-Like Experience

A National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency directorate is seeking better ways to custom-tailor geospatial information products.

Science & Tech

The CIA Says It Can Predict Social Unrest as Early as 3 to 5 Days Out

The reason: a dramatic improvement in analytics, cloud computing and ‘deep learning.’

Ideas

What to Do About Zero-Day Hacks? Try A Middle Road

A system of government incentives will keep us safer than trying to buy up all newly discovered vulnerabilities, or outlawing their sale.

Science & Tech

The Man in Charge of Stopping the Next Snowden

Moving past the summer of 2013 has proven difficult for the intelligence community.

Ideas

A Peek into French Signals Intelligence

France’s former top SIGINT spy confirms an advanced persistent threat and muses about a merger with German intelligence.