FAS

Congress Enacts Insider Threat Detection Program

12.14.11 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

Congress ordered the Secretary of Defense to establish an information security program for detecting “unauthorized access to, use of, or transmission of classified or controlled unclassified information.”  The provision was included by the FY2012 defense authorization act that was approved in conference this week (section 922).

The insider threat detection program, conceived as a response to WikiLeaks, is intended to “allow for centralized monitoring and detection of unauthorized activities.”  Among other things, it is supposed to employ technology solutions “to prevent the unauthorized export of information from a network or to render such information unusable in the event of the unauthorized export of such information.”

The Congressional action was partially anticipated by President Obama’s executive order 13587 of October 7, 2011, which established new governance procedures for improving the security of classified information.

The new legislation adds some further detail and imposes deadlines for compliance.

publications
See all publications
Environment
Blog
Disaster Policy Nerds Explain the Good, Bad, and Ugly in FEMA Review Council Report

After months of delay, the council tasked by President Trump to review the FEMA released its final report. Our disaster policy nerds have thoughts.

05.21.26 | 8 min read
read more
Global Risk
Press release
Federation of American Scientists, Future of Life Institute Present Converging Risks Report, AI Impact Awards at Gala

FAS and FLI partnered to build a series of convenings and reports across the intersections of artificial intelligence (AI) with biosecurity, cybersecurity, nuclear command and control, military integration, and frontier AI governance. This project brought together leaders across these areas and created a space that was rigorous, transpartisan, and solutions-oriented to approach how we should think about how AI is rapidly changing global risks.

05.20.26 | 9 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
Blog
Closing the Strategic Capital Gap: The Case for Modernizing the Export-Import Bank

Investment should instead be directed at sectors where American technology and innovation exist but the infrastructure to commercialize them domestically does not—and where the national security case is clear.

05.20.26 | 3 min read
read more
Clean Energy
Blog
States Are Plugging into Experimental Electricity Policy to Find Cost-Saving Success

To tune into the action on the ground, we convened practitioners, state and local officials, advocates, and policy experts to discuss what it will actually take to deploy clean energy faster, modernize electricity systems, and lower costs for households.

05.13.26 | 5 min read
read more