Thread by @jseldin

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"