home Security Counter Terror The CIA will increase its cyber operations

The CIA will increase its cyber operations

Mar 6, 2015

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Cyber warfare is a growing an imminent threat on the U.S. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is planning to join the growing list of U.S. intelligence and security agencies which have redefined their missions to include cyber operations. In the CIA’s case – cyber espionage.

Current and former agency officials say the new cyber effort will be part of the broad restructuring of an intelligence service long defined by its human spy work. The shift also reflects the increasing role cyber plays in intelligence gathering, with allies and adversaries relying on smartphones, social media, and other technologies to communicate.

CIA director John Brennan told HomeLand Security News Wire that to recruit a Russian spy, “you may need to manipulate someone’s email, read someone’s email, and track the whereabouts of the FSB.” Brennan referred to the Russian security service. “Cyber is now part of every mission. It’s not a specialized, boutique thing,” he added.

Brennan also said he plans to explore and utilize cyber capabilities in almost every category of the agency’s operations, from identifying foreign officials and recruiting CIA informants, to confirming the identities of targets of drone strikes or penetrating enemies like the Islamic State who have successfully used the Internet to spread their ideology.

The CIA already operates a cyber initiative as part of its Information Operations Center, which handles assignments such as extracting information from stolen laptops and planting surveillance devices. The agency also oversees the Open Source Center, an intelligence unit formed in 2005 to scan publicly available data including social media postings and web forums, where terror groups post material. The new plan is to utilize those specialized cyber tools throughout the agency.

Officials familiar with Brennan’s plan say it has caused generational friction within the CIA, with veteran staff resisting changes that younger officers have been more eager to accept. Overall, the move will be well received, officials say.

It is “entirely appropriate, even overdue,” said Stephen Slick, a former CIA official who directs the Intelligence Studies Project at the University of Texas at Austin. “Advances in digital technology are having a revolutionary impact on the intelligence business, and it’s important for CIA to adapt its collection and covert action missions to account for the new opportunities and dangers.”