The director of the CIA does not believe the United States is ready to
combat the online propaganda campaigns Islamic State uses to inspire
attacks around the globe.
“The one area when I look to the future that concerns me is in that
digital domain,” CIA Director John Brennan told the Senate Intelligence
Committee today. “[It is] the new frontier, and I do not believe our
legal frameworks as well as our authorization structures and our
capabilities, are yet at the point to be able to deal with its
challenges.”
Brennan briefed the committee on threats to national security in the
wake of the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. Islamic State,
also referred to as ISIS or ISIL, has thousands of fighters in its safe
havens in Iraq and Syria, but it also paints a carefully crafted image
to the outside world, luring recruits even within U.S. borders. Brennan
said he fears the U.S. will struggle to keep up with the spread of
propaganda that inspired Omar Mateen, a U.S. citizen, to slaughter 49
persons in Orlando, Fla., on June 17.
Law enforcement has not found “direct links” between Mateen and ISIS,
but Brennan said that doesn’t matter because the organization clearly
inspired him.
ISIS uses sites such as Twitter, Telegram, and Tumblr to seek out
sympathizers, Brennan said. He urged senators to engage in a better
discussion on how law enforcement can work with tech companies to sniff
out terrorists without jeopardizing the personal information of
Americans.
“I think the issue around digital security is one of the most complex I
have ever engaged with,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. “I personally
believe it would make America less safe and create economic and national
security harm for us to litigate or to mandate [company compliance].”
Heated debates on how much tech companies should have to aid law enforcement began earlier this year.
The FBI asked Apple to assist in unlocking an iPhone 5C used by one of
the shooters in the San Bernardino, Calif., attack that left 14 dead.
Apple refused, claiming it would have to create a backdoor method to get
around its own encryptions, jeopardizing the personal information of
every iPhone.
But Brennan said that debate needs to continue because ISIS attacks against Americans are far from over.
The Islamic State has as many as 22,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria
alone and because of its online recruiting could have many more in the
West ready to attack Americans.
“Unfortunately, despite all our progress against ISIL on the
battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the
group’s terrorism capability and global reach,” Brennan said. “In fact,
as the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge that it will intensify its
global terror campaign.”
With terrorism dominating public discourse since the Orlando shooting,
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., asked Brennan about the key security
threats he will discuss with America’s next president.
“Cyber, certainly,” Brennan responded. “That individual, whoever is
elected, needs to use their all four to eight years to tackle this issue
because it’s going to take time in order to come up with the types of
understandings that are necessary. Terrorism is going to continue to
plague us. And that’s related to the cyber issue and how we’re going to
make sure that FBI and NSA and CIA and others are able to do their job
to protect this country.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., vehemently rejected suggestions Congress will
ever mandate companies like Apple build backdoors into their products.
He said government clearly has a role to play with digital security but
not one that risks the personal information of Americans.
But others sympathized with Brennan’s request for more cooperation
between the private sector and government agencies, claiming the risks
are far too great not to figure out a compromise.
“This feud between the tech companies and the intelligence community
and law enforcement has to stop,” said Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. “The
American people don’t understand that for our agencies to … protect
them, that comes with a price. And this debate is about what that cost
might be and what we’re willing to accept.”
Courtesy: WORLD News Service
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