Jeff Seldin Profile picture
Jan 12 14 tweets 9 min read
US intelligence making a case to renew sweeping communication surveillance powers granted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - set to expire this year

"FISA Section 702 is irreplaceable" @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA Gen Paul Nakasone told @PCLOB_GOV Thursday
#FISA establishes rules US intelligence agencies when surveilling foreign powers and agents

Section 702-added in 2008-allows for targeted surveillance of electronic communications of foreign persons outside of the US

BUT critics argue it subjects Americans to unlawful searches
US intel officials, like @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA, call #FISA Section 702 a critical tool

Sec. 702 "plays an outsized role in protecting the nation, providing some of the US gvt's most valuable intelligence on our most challenging targets...It provides unique information w/minimal risk"
#FISA Section 702 "is focused & limited yet agile enough to address nat'l security threats in an ever changing technological & threat environment" per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA
#FISA Section 702 "allows the intelligence community to acquire the communications of specific foreign actors overseas & use those details to identify terrorist plots, track spies, identify cyber attacks & try to stop them" per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA
Per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA, insights gained from #FISA Section 702 "has helped us to understand the strategic intention of the foreign gvts we are most interested in-the People's Republic of #China, #Russia. #Iran & Democratic People's Republic of #Korea"
Intel gained from #FISA Section 702 has been used "to prevent weapon components from reaching hostile foreign actors...& disrupted foreign #cyberattacks" per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA

"Intelligence acquired under his authority has stopped significant terrorist plots" he added
What about critics asking for proof of such successes?

"It's difficult to provide you with concrete examples" per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA "So many of our successes are ... preventing the dog from barking in the night"
One example @NSAgov does talk about publicly - the arrest of Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested after the agency intercepted an email from a terrorist in #Paksitan

Zazi pleaded guilty to a plot to bomb #NewYorkCity's subway

Background: voanews.com/a/nsa-chief-sa…
In his comments, @nakasone said #FISA Section 702 in 2014 also "provided the intelligence community key insights into #ISIS planning & senior members of the terrorist organization...preventing attacks"
More recently, @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA says data from #FISA Section 702 "identified multiple foreign ransomware attacks on US critical infrastructure...positioned the gvt to respond to & mitigate these events, & in some instances prevent significant attack on US networks"
NEW: Information that helped the US track & kill #alQaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri came from #FISA Section 702, per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA
#FISA Section 702 "was designed w/safeguards to protect the rights of the American ppl & our allies" per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA

"Section 702 cannot be used to target Americans anywhere in the world or any person inside the United States regardless of nationality. No exceptions"
#FISA Sec. 702 "has layers of civil liberty & privacy protections embedded throughout from annual training ... to policy controls on when & how queries are conducted" per @CYBERCOM_DIRNSA

"Oversight & transparency are also baked into the law"

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More from @jseldin

Jan 12
Just in: Senate Intelligence Committee chairman @MarkWarner calls just released Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (#UAP) report "a step forward in understanding & addressing risks to aviators"

Also says reporting increase is "a sign of decreased stigma among pilots..."
Just in: Pentagon on just released #UAP/#UFO report from @ODNIgov

"The safety of our service personnel, our bases & installations, & the protection of US operations...are paramount" per @PentagonPresSec

"We take reports of incursions...seriously & examine each one"
More: Reaction from Senate Intelligence Committee vice chair @marcorubio to release of US intelligence #UAP/#UFO report

"We are making important progress in our ongoing efforts to understand these activities & what threat they may pose...However, more needs to be done"
Read 4 tweets
Jan 12
BREAKING: @ODNIgov publishes its long-awaited 2022 Annual Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (#UAP / #UFO)

Looks at a total of 510 reports thru August 30, 2022
dni.gov/files/ODNI/doc…
"#UAP events continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting possible concerns for safety of flight or adversary collection activity..." per @ODNIgov
"...This may result from a collection bias due to the number of active aircraft & sensors, combined w/
focused attention and guidance to report anomalies" per @ODNIgov
Read 6 tweets
Jan 11
#China naval threat-"What you've seen is a buildup in every warfare area w/advanced systems, long range weapons, electronic warfare capability, innovative technology, a blue water fleet along w/other vessels" Office of US Naval Intelligence RADM Michael Studeman told @INSAlliance
#China navy "can do a whole bunch of the patrolling &the coersion around #Taiwan to maintain what they are trying to do which is effective control over what they claim in the #SouthChinaSea w/pressure tactics in the Senkakus, more activity in the Philippine Sea" per RADM Studeman
"Please don't underestimate #China" per RADM Studeman

"We don't just look at the maritime navy elements of what China is up. We have to be concerned about other things like the illegal & unreported & unregulated fishing activities"
Read 10 tweets
Jan 11
#Iran naval threat - "The pressure, the coercion, the activity against merchant ships comes & goes, & surges depending on circumstances" @USNavy Office of Naval Intelligence Commander RADM Michael Studeman told @INSAlliance Wednesday
"#Iran continues to make UAVs & other unmanned capabilities like hotcakes. We've even seen a new drone carrier that they're building" per RADM Studeman
#Iran-"We have to be very mindful, not just in terms of their ballistic missile program development, trying to develop anto-ship capabilities but the whole #IRGCN, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps & what they are building & how they are using their forces" per RADM Studeman
Read 5 tweets
Jan 11
#Russia's war vs #Ukraine - "The Russian navy has survived this war largely intact" per @USNavy Office of Naval Intelligence Commander RADM Michael Studeman told @INSAlliance Wednesday
"The Russian navy., although losing its flagship there in the #BlackSea, continues to fire cruise missiles at a certain pace w/ships & submarines that remain fairly close to the #Crimea" per RADM Studeman
"The #Ukrainians are looking for ways & have come up w/very innovative maritime techniques to be able to make life hard for the #Russia|n aggressors & that give & take will continue for some time" per RADM Studeman
Read 11 tweets
Jan 10
#alQaida's #Zawahiri "was the singular leader" per NCTC's Abizaid

"He was both symbolically important but also strategically important for what was a diverse network of affiliates"
#alQaida's Zawahiri's removal "a strategic & symbolic setback" per Abizaid

'The loss of him as that center of gravity does kind of test the ties that bind the rest of these affiliates, whether it's #Yemen based affiliate w/#AQAP, whether it's #JNIM...whether it's #Shabaab"
Who's #alQaida's next leader - unclear, per NCTC's Abizaid

"The best candidates are Saif al-Adel & Abdul Rahman al-Maghrebi, that are sitting in #Iran"
Read 5 tweets

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