Cyber security is a “nebulous domain… that tends to resist easy measurement and, in some cases, appears to defy any measurement,” according to a report issued in March by Sandia National Laboratories. In order to establish a common vocabulary for discussing cyber threats, and thereby to enable an appropriate response, the Sandia authors propose a […]
The Obama Administration is urging Congress to renew provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act that are set to expire at the end of this year. “Reauthorizing this authority is the top legislative priority of the Intelligence Community,” wrote Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Attorney General Eric Holder in a […]
In 2011, the US Government submitted 1,745 applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for authorization to conduct electronic surveillance or physical searches under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), according to a new annual report to Congress. Of these, 1,676 included requests for authority for perform electronic surveillance, the report said. That compares to […]
More than a thousand boxes of classified government records are believed to be missing from the Washington National Records Center (WNRC) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), a three-year Inspector General investigation found. But there are no indications of theft or espionage, an official said. An inventory of the holdings at the Records […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that have not been made readily available to the public include the following. United States v. Jones: GPS Monitoring, Property, and Privacy, April 30, 2012 China’s Rare Earth Industry and Export Regime: Economic and Trade Implications for the United States, April 30, 2012 Federal Agency Actions […]
New and updated Congressional Research Service reports that Congress has withheld from direct public access include the following. Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, April 26, 2012 The Budget Control Act of 2011: The Effects on Spending and the Budget Deficit When the Automatic Spending Cuts Are Implemented, April 23, 2012 Budget “Sequestration” and Selected Program […]
An Army field manual published last week explains the Army’s conduct of information collection activities in military operations. “In this manual, the term ‘information collection’ is introduced as the Army’s replacement for ‘intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance’ (also known as ISR),” the manual says. “This publication clarifies how the Army plans, prepares, and executes information collection […]
Government attorneys said yesterday that they would appeal an extraordinary judicial ruling that required the release of a classified document in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The document in question is a one-page position paper produced by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) concerning the U.S. negotiating position in free trade negotiations. It […]
In response to congressional direction, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is considering whether to expand the scope of patent secrecy orders — which prohibit the publication of affected patent applications — in order to enhance “economic security” and to protect newly developed inventions against exploitation by foreign competitors. Currently, patent secrecy orders are applied […]
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has not made readily available to the public include the following. Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Research, Development, and Demonstration at the U.S. Department of Energy, April 23, 2012 Members of Congress Who Die in Office: Historic and Current Practices, April 25, 2012 Hydraulic […]
The Senate Intelligence Committee has been reviewing the post-9/11 detention and interrogation practices of the Central Intelligence Agency for four years and is still not finished. But the end appears to be in sight. “The review itself is nearing completion — before the end of summer — but is not over yet,” a spokesperson for […]
Government attorneys yesterday asked a court for an extension of time to respond to two Freedom of Information Act lawsuits seeking disclosure of records pertaining to “alleged targeted lethal operations” conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency, including the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki. The attorneys’ request seems to portend a possible change in the government’s persistent […]