Defense
The next counterintelligence threat may be hiding in federal hiring
COMMENTARY | Foreign adversaries are exploiting resumes, recruiting and professional relationships to pursue sensitive information. Federal agencies need to recognize the risks without making it harder to recruit the talent they need.
Management
Lawmaker warns intelligence contractors' Trump ballroom donations may be scrutinized
Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, wants to examine whether contributions were tied to federal contracts or access to administration officials.
Tech
25 years after 9/11, spy agencies face old lessons and new threats
Former intelligence officials describe a nation better equipped to disrupt terrorist plots, but still wrestling with the costs of its response and how to prevent the next crisis under escalating technology threats.
Workforce
Former CISA employee pleads guilty to defrauding government with secret contractor jobs
Prosecutors say Richeline Fung secretly held contractor jobs tied to six agencies and claimed up to 33-hour workdays while working full time for the federal cyber agency.
Tech
Intel ops are underway at Space Command’s nascent Alabama HQ
Alabama landed SPACECOM after a years-long political fight. Now it’s getting off the ground.
Management
Senate confirms Clayton as Trump’s next intelligence director
The former SEC chairman will replace acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte, whose brief tenure oversaw repeated personnel cuts to the nation’s top spy office.
Management
Pulte announces 30% ODNI staff reduction hours before Clayton vote
The acting intelligence chief said a fifth and “near final” round of terminations was underway Tuesday but did not disclose how many employees were affected.
Management
Trump stretches declassified China intelligence into broader 2020 election claims
The records provide new details about Chinese intelligence collection on voters and internal analytic debates, but do not undercut longstanding findings on the 2020 election.
Management
Trump’s intelligence pick pressed on 2020 election, defends handling of New York Times subpoenas
Jay Clayton faced Democratic criticism after repeatedly declining to say Joe Biden won in 2020 and standing by subpoenas issued by his Manhattan prosecutor’s office to four New York Times journalists.
Tech
Trump says Pulte can declassify ‘whatever’ he wants, sparking fears of exposing intelligence secrets
“If he doesn’t care about blowing up cyber exploits, putting foreign relationships at risk, or getting people killed, he could declassify a lot,” one former official said.
Tech
CIA will take ‘smart risks’ and ‘course correct’ as it adopts AI, director says
“We simply can’t afford to wait for a risk-free approach to emerging tech. It doesn’t exist. We have to move fast. We have to be aggressive,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said.
Management
Director of National Intelligence office cuts reach key coordination function
A senior official was placed on leave as detailed intelligence personnel were believed to have been returned to their home agencies, part of a broader effort to shrink the ODNI.
Workforce
Lawmakers warn acting intelligence chief against major workforce changes
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., pointed to reports of potential staff cuts and warned against using the temporary appointment to make lasting personnel or declassification decisions at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Tech
AI skills are becoming part of the hiring baseline at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
The intelligence agency is reshaping training for both new and existing employees as it builds AI and data management into core job expectations across the workforce.
Management
Intelligence director hearing cancelled as Trump pushes for controversial voter bill
The development guarantees that Bill Pulte — whose selection to temporarily lead the office derailed a recent FISA vote — would start as acting national intelligence director on Friday.
Tech
White House cyber office hire triggers leadership changes inside infrastructure security agency
A senior CISA official’s move sets off a series of internal assignments as the agency prepares to expand hiring after a year of workforce reductions and restructuring.
Tech
Surveillance authority nears historic lapse as House deadlock meets intelligence leadership fight
Section 702 is set to expire for the first time after a failed House vote, even as a White House nomination aims to resolve a separate battle over who should oversee the intelligence community during the transition.
Management
What makes an effective intelligence chief? A former DNI official points to the answer
COMMENTARY | As scrutiny grows around President Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, a former National Intelligence Council chair explains the less visible responsibilities that come with the job.
Breaking News
Management
Trump appoints housing official to be acting director of national intelligence
The selection is unconventional for the nation’s lead intelligence official, a role tasked with managing 18 distinct agencies like the CIA and NSA.
Updated
Management