LATEST U.S. SPY AGENCY HAPPENINGS- 7/29/15

The 17 agencies comprising the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) are constantly adapting to changing times in the battle to keep Americans out of harm's way. Here's some newsworthy events happening within seven of them, the DNI, CIA, FBI, NGA, DEA, DIA and ONI:   

Director of National Intelligence“I think our more proximate threat are the so-called lone wolves,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports."

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): Top psychologists worked with CIA and Pentagon on torture at Guantanamo.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): CIA head Carter announces that heightened security will be the "new normal" in the U.S. He stated, "Now we are dealing with large numbers, who have travelled to Syria – we don’t know how many will come back with terrible intent – and the homegrown extremists who are here”. 

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): The FBI made a short video that warns of Chinese Espionage. A "cheesy" but surprisingly well-made short film, The Company Man: Protecting America’s Secrets, tells the true story of Robert Moore, a stressed-out father and engineer who’s worried about paying for his kids’ college tuition when he’s approached by two conniving Chinese businessmen. They offer him $200,000 for his company’s insulation technology secrets, but Moore — made of tougher stuff than he seems — turns down their offer. He tells his bosses, they go to the FBI, and the agency sets up a successful sting operation to catch the crooks.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA): The NGA  remains mostly dependent upon highly-classified operations, but its director, Robert Cardillo, announced a "seismic shift" is underway in which the agency will elevate the importance of unclassified sources of intelligence. There is so much OSINT data out there! The NGA launched the “GEOINT Pathfinder” team to answer intelligence questions with unclassified data, agile acquisition tools and commercial technology.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): The DEA purchased, along with the FBI and U.S. Army,  controversial software that allows their agents to take remote control of suspects’ computers, recording their calls, emails, keystrokes and even activating their cameras, according to internal documents hacked from the software’s Italian manufacturer.

Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA): A new facility that will help protect America from enemies and save soldiers lives has been completed after 13 years of planning and construction. The Director of the DIA, Lt. General Vincent Stewart applauded the center, saying, "This business is about how we understand our adversary, how we defeat our adversary, even before we go to combat." The seven building complex will enable America to better understand our  adversary's technology so we can fully exploit it. As Lt. General Stewart summed it all up..."We've got to be ready."

Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI): In a 1996 Washington Post column, three former directors of the ONI wrote that Jonathon Pollard offered classified information to three other countries before working for Israel and offered his services to a fourth country. Pollard, the former U.S. Navy analyst who was convicted of selling secrets to Israel in the 1980s, will be released from prison in November, his lawyers said.
Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S. is a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). He is author of the spy series "Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster in the Caribbean."