IC ON THE RECORD

Release of the 20th Joint Assessment of Section 702...

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 15:04:45 -0400

Release of the 20^th Joint Assessment of Section 702 Compliance

April 2, 2021

Today, the DNI, in consultation with the Department of Justice, is releasing in redacted form the 20^th Semiannual Assessment of Compliance with Procedures and Guidelines Issued Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Submitted by the then Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence (“Joint Assessment”). This Joint Assessment covers the timeframe of December 2017 – May 2018. The DNI is releasing this semiannual assessment proactively, in keeping with the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community .

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which was in effect during the reporting period for this 20^th Joint Assessment, required the Attorney General and the DNI to assess compliance with Section 702 procedures over each six-month period and to submit such assessments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and relevant congressional committees. A joint team of experts (the Joint Oversight Team) from DOJ and ODNI conduct these assessments.

The Joint Assessments describe the extensive measures the Government undertakes to ensure compliance with FISC-approved targeting and minimization procedures for Section 702; to accurately identify, record and correct errors; to take responsive actions to remove any erroneously obtained data; and to minimize the chances that mistakes will recur. As was the case in past Joint Assessments, the Joint Oversight Team found in the 20^th Joint Assessment that the agencies continued to implement the procedures in a manner that reflected a focused and concerted effort by IC personnel to comply with the requirements of Section 702.

In this semiannual assessment, DOJ and ODNI note that two types of compliance incidents drove the increase in the overall compliance incident rate to 4.39%. Certain of the compliance incidents described in this assessment, including those regarding the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) queries discussed below, have been described in other materials previously released to the public, most notably, the FISC’s October 2018 opinion addressing the Government’s annual certification of its Section 702 program.

As described in this and prior semiannual assessments, this overall compliance incident rate remains an imperfect proxy insofar as the rate compares the total number of compliance incidents (regardless of their cause) to the average number of tasked facilities (which may be unrelated to the number of certain types of compliance incidents, such as the number of times the acquired data was disseminated or queried erroneously). To better promote oversight and inform the public’s understanding of compliance trends and their potential to affect privacy and civil liberties, this assessment therefore also includes narrative descriptions of compliance incidents and provides an additional metric that is specific to the compliance incident rate for National Security Agency (NSA) targeting decisions.

In the first category of incidents, one office in the NSA misunderstood how one of NSA’s tasking tools worked and did not appropriately review multiple accounts prior to tasking, which resulted in numerous accounts being incorrectly tasked. The erroneously tasked accounts were detasked and the information collected from these taskings was purged. After becoming aware of the incidents, NSA issued additional training to its personnel about the tasking requirements on the use of its tasking tools.

The second category of incidents involved misapplication by FBI personnel of the query standard in the FBI querying procedures. Two events, each involving large numbers of queries conducted using FBI’s “batch query” tool (which allows FBI personnel to run numerous identifiers simultaneously), resulted in approximately 98% of the FBI’s compliance incidents. These two batch query incidents involved numerous queries conducted by the tool but pertained to a small subset of users.

Informed by these and other FBI query incidents, the FISC assessed the FBI’s use of query terms in opinions the court issued on October 18, 2018 , September 4, 2019 , and December 6, 2019 . In the 2018 opinion, the FISC found that the FBI’s querying procedures were not consistent with Section 702 or the Fourth Amendment in part because they did not require adequate documentation of justifications for U.S. person queries. In response to the Court’s opinions, the FBI made system modifications necessary to meet query recordkeeping and documentation requirements and provided training on these new modifications. The previously released December 2019 FISC opinion discusses these changes. The FBI incidents discussed in this 20^th Joint Assessment were reported to the FISC in a reporting period (December 2017 – May 2018) that preceded the 2018 and 2019 court opinions and the FBI’s implementation of these remedial actions.

ODNI has previously released a number of prior joint assessments, which may be found on IC on the Record and Intel.gov.

Below is today’s release, in redacted form:

20^th Joint Assessment (dated November 2020): reporting period December 1, 2017-May 31, 2018

ODNI, DOJ, and DHS Release Unclassified Summary of Assessment on Domestic Violent...

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 16:09:39 -0400

ODNI, DOJ, and DHS Release Unclassified Summary of Assessment on Domestic Violent Extremism

March 17, 2021

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today released an unclassified summary of the joint comprehensive threat assessment on domestic violent extremism. The unclassified summary is attached and will be available on DNI.gov later today.

The ODNI assessment was drafted by the National Counterterrorism Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and DHS, and includes contributions from the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency. All agencies involved are mindful of the duty to respect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties and to act within the authorities granted to them as they seek to put together as complete an intelligence and analytic picture as is possible.

Read the report:

Unclassified Summary of Assessment on Domestic Violent Extremism

View original press statement on DNI.gov

###

ODNI Releases Intelligence Community Assessment of Foreign...

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 16:11:49 -0400

ODNI Releases Intelligence Community Assessment of Foreign Threats to the 2020 U.S. Elections

March 16, 2021

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) today released the declassified Intelligence Community (IC) assessment of foreign threats to the 2020 U.S. federal elections. The document is a declassified version of a classified report that the IC provided to the President, senior Executive Branch officials, and Congressional leadership and intelligence oversight committees on January 7, 2021.

“Foreign malign influence is an enduring challenge facing our country,” said Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines. “These efforts by U.S. adversaries seek to exacerbate divisions and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions. Addressing this ongoing challenge requires a whole-of-government approach grounded in an accurate understanding of the problem, which the Intelligence Community, through assessments such as this one, endeavors to provide.”

Coordinated across the IC, the assessment addresses the intentions and efforts of key foreign actors to influence or interfere with the 2020 U.S. elections and undermine public confidence in the U.S. election process. The assessment builds on the analysis the IC provided to the public and policymakers throughout the 2020 election cycle.

Additionally, pursuant to Executive Order 13848(1)(b), the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security today issued an unclassified summary that evaluates the impact of foreign influence or interference efforts on the security and integrity of U.S. election infrastructure.

Read the report:

Intelligence Community Assessment: Foreign Threats to the 2020 U.S. Federal Elections

View the original press statement via DNI.gov

Assessing the Saudi Government’s Role in the Killing of...

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 16:13:51 -0500

Assessing the Saudi Government’s Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Declassified by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines

February 25, 2021

Consistent with Sections 1277 and 5714 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (P.L. 116-92) and with the commitment made during her January 20, 2021, nomination hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Director of National Security Avril Haines today declassified an Intelligence Community assessment regarding the Saudi Government’s role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

Download the report

ODNI Releases ODNI-Attorney General Procedures for Conducting...

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 14:22:30 -0500

ODNI Releases ODNI-Attorney General Procedures for Conducting Intelligence Activities

January 14, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released new procedures approved by the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General governing the conduct of ODNI intelligence activities.

As required by Executive Order 12333, these procedures, commonly referred to as the “Attorney General (AG) Guidelines,” provide the core protections for ODNI’s collection and handling of information concerning U.S. persons in the conduct of lawful intelligence activities. ODNI’s AG Guidelines also prescribe the limited circumstances in which ODNI personnel may participate in a U.S. organization without disclosing their ODNI affiliation.

Until the effective date of the new ODNI AG Guidelines on March 23, ODNI will continue to conduct intelligence activities within established National Counterterrorism Center or CIA AG Guidelines.

“As intelligence professionals, our first duty is to the American people,” said Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. “We must continue to ensure that we always conduct our intelligence activities lawfully, appropriately integrate intelligence in support of national security, and protect the privacy and civil liberties of every American. ODNI’s AG Guidelines provide the framework for executing that mission.”

The new ODNI AG Guidelines are part of a multi-year effort to update comparable sets of procedures across the Intelligence Community (IC). They ensure the IC takes a consistent approach to protecting privacy and civil liberties while integrating intelligence information across many different intelligence elements and disciplines.

Consistent with the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the IC, the ODNI’s AG Guidelines are unclassified and proactively released in their entirety here. In addition, a narrative document describing key provisions of the Guidelines, including the authorities and restrictions that govern ODNI’s collection, evaluation, retention and dissemination of information, as well as the oversight mechanisms that ODNI will use to ensure compliance with these protections, is available here.

ODNI AG Guidelines

ODNI AG Guidelines Procedure Summary

Release of the 19th Joint Assessment of Section 702...

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 12:02:10 -0400

Release of the 19^th Joint Assessment of Section 702 Compliance

October 8, 2020

Today, the DNI, in consultation with the Department of Justice, is releasing in redacted form the 19^th Semiannual Assessment of Compliance with Procedures and Guidelines Issued Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Submitted by the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence (“Joint Assessment”). The DNI is releasing this semiannual assessment proactively, in keeping with the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community.

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 requires the Attorney General and the DNI to assess compliance with Section 702 procedures over each six month period and to submit such assessments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (“FISC”) and relevant congressional committees. A joint team of experts (the Joint Oversight Team) from DOJ and ODNI conduct these assessments.

The Joint Assessments describe the extensive measures the Government undertakes to ensure compliance with FISC-approved targeting and minimization procedures; to accurately identify, record and correct errors; to take responsive actions to remove any erroneously obtained data; and to minimize the chances that mistakes will recur. The Joint Assessments have found that the agencies continue to implement the procedures in a manner that reflects a focused and concerted effort by IC personnel to comply with the requirements of Section 702.

One new item contained in this 19^th Joint Assessment is an additional metric to assess compliance. As explained in previous assessments, the Joint Oversight Team periodically evaluates how and what data it collects to provide for more meaningful statistics. The Joint Assessment has traditionally tracked the overall compliance incident rate; however, this statistic remains imperfect, as the assessment explains. Thus, the Joint Oversight Team determined that providing a new, additional comparison rate – NSA’s targeting compliance incident rate – would enhance overseers’ and the public’s understanding of Section 702 compliance. For consistency in evaluating long-term trends, this Joint Assessment also continues to provide the overall compliance incident rate. Additional details about the new measurement are provided in the Joint Assessment.

ODNI has previously released a number of prior joint assessments, which may be found on IC on the Record and Intel.gov .

Below is today’s release, in redacted form:

19^th Joint Assessment (dated December 2019): reporting period June 1, 2017-November 30, 2017

Release of FISA Opinion Regarding Electronic Surveillance...

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 14:09:11 -0400

Release of FISA Opinion Regarding Electronic Surveillance Technique

September 23, 2020

Today the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Department of Justice, releases a March 5, 2020, opinion by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

Title I of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) requires that prior to issuing an order authorizing electronic surveillance, the FISC must determine, among other things, that there is probable cause to believe (A) that the target of the collection is a foreign power or agent of a foreign power, and (B) that “each of the facilities or places at which the electronic surveillance is to be directed is being used, or is about to be used, by a foreign power or agent of a foreign power.” 50 U.S.C. 1805(a)(2).

In the course of analyzing a novel, classified surveillance technique, the FISC’s March 2020 opinion examined each portion of the second half of these required findings, interpreting FISA with respect to what constitutes a “facility” at which surveillance may be directed, as well as whether the proposed surveillance was in fact “directed” at an appropriate facility. The FISC further addressed whether FISA requires the FISC to make a probable cause finding regarding the targeted facilities in their totality, or whether the FISC instead should make probable cause findings for “each” facility individually. The FISC appointed both legal and technical amici curiae to assist in its analysis of the complex surveillance technique.

The FISC ultimately determined that the proposed surveillance technique was consistent with the statutory terms and that there was probable cause to assess that the targets used each of the specified facilities. The FISC further ordered the Government to report on whether the technique resulted in the acquisition of non-target communications.

While redactions have been made to protect the classified and sensitive surveillance method discussed in this opinion, ODNI is making this opinion publicly available to the greatest extent practicable, as required by 50 U.S.C. § 1872.

FISC’s March 2020 Opinion (released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1872)

Release of Court Opinion Related to the Temporary Retention,...

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 11:57:48 -0400

Release of Court Opinion Related to the Temporary Retention, Use, and Disclosure of Unlawful FISA Collection

September 11, 2020

Today, the ODNI, in consultation with the Department of Justice, releases a June 25, 2020, opinion by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) evaluating and approving limited circumstances under which the Government may temporarily retain, use, or disclose information that was unlawfully acquired pursuant to a FISC order.

On December 9, 2019, the Government advised the FISC that it was sequestering collection associated with Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications targeting Carter W. Page (Page) based upon its determination that at least the third and fourth FISA applications targeting Page lacked sufficient predication to establish probable cause that Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power. This action was taken following a Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (OIG) review that identified material errors and omissions with respect to applications concerning Mr. Page.

While the Government strictly limited access to the Page FISA collection, the Government sought to temporarily retain this collection for the sole purposes of reviewing and remediating the issues revealed by the OIG report, as well as for any related investigations or litigation regarding the Government’s conduct. On January 7, 2020, the FISC ordered the Government to explain why any retention, use, or disclosure of information collected under the Page FISA applications was necessary and lawful.

Specifically, 50 U.S.C. § 1809(a)(2) and 1827(a)(2) criminalizes the intentional use and disclosure of information acquired by unauthorized electronic surveillance or physical search that was conducted under the color of a FISA authorization. In prior opinions, however, the FISC recognized a limited exception to the language of 50 U.S.C. § 1809(a)(2), for “actions that are necessary to mitigate or prevent the very harms at which [this section] is addressed,” such as instances where use or disclosure may be “necessary to avoid similar instances of overcollections.” ODNI previously reviewed and released to the public these earlier FISC decisions, which are available here and here .

In its June 25, 2020, opinion, the FISC set parameters for the temporary retention, use, and disclosure of information acquired pursuant to the Page FISA applications with respect to: (1) ongoing Freedom of Information Act litigation with third-parties, (2) ongoing and potential civil litigation initiated by Mr. Page, (3) a review of FBI personnel’s conduct in the Page investigation, (4) Department of Justice Office of Inspector General monitoring of implementation of recommendations from its report, and (5) review of the conduct of government personnel in the Page investigation and the broader “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. The Government did not seek nor did the FISC authorize the retention, use, or disclosure of the relevant FISA information for intelligence purposes.

The FISC’s June 25, 2020 opinion is available at the link below and also in full-text searchable format on Intelligence.gov.

June 2020 FISC Opinion (released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1872)

Release of Documents Related to the 2019 FISA Section 702...

Fri, 04 Sep 2020 15:18:03 -0400

Release of Documents Related to the 2019 FISA Section 702 Certifications

September 4, 2020

Today the ODNI, in consultation with the Department of Justice, releases documents related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s (FISC) approval of the 2019 Certifications under Section 702 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

On December 6, 2019, the FISC issued a classified Memorandum Opinion and Order approving the 2019 Certifications and the associated targeting, minimization, and querying procedures (linked below). In the Memorandum Opinion, the Court examined the proposed procedures and found that they satisfy the requirements of FISA and the Fourth Amendment.

Additionally, the Court examined the implementation of and compliance with prior Section 702 procedures, including the FBI’s progress in implementing the recordkeeping and documentation requirements contained within FBI’s querying procedures. The Court concluded that the procedures, as implemented, also comport with statutory and Fourth Amendment requirements.

As it pertained to FBI’s querying procedures, the Court revisited its analysis of the 2018 Section 702 certifications in its September 2019 Opinion , finding that the FBI continued to follow its previously described implementation schedule to complete training and systems modifications necessary to meet query recordkeeping and documentation requirements.

In addition to releasing the FISC opinion, ODNI is releasing the targeting, minimization, and querying procedures related to the 2019 Certifications. Links to these documents are provided below.

The documents are also posted in full-text searchable format on Intel.gov.

FISC’s December 2019 Opinion

2019 Targeting Procedures (released pursuant to the IC’s Principles of Transparency):

2019 Minimization and Querying Procedures (released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1881a(e)).

Background on Section 702:

Section 702 was enacted as part of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) and most recently reauthorized by the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017. Section 702 permits the Attorney General and the DNI to jointly authorize, through certifications, the targeting of (i) non-U.S. persons (ii) who are reasonably believed to be located outside the United States (iii) to acquire foreign intelligence information. These certifications are accompanied by targeting procedures, minimization procedures, and querying procedures that are each designed to ensure that the Government’s collection is appropriately targeted against non-United States persons located overseas who may possess or are likely to communicate foreign intelligence information and that any such collection is appropriately handled in a manner that protects privacy and civil liberties.

Under Section 702, the FISC reviews the certifications and accompanying documents to ensure that they meet all the requirements of Section 702 and are consistent with the Fourth Amendment. The Court’s review is not limited to the procedures as written, but also includes an examination of how the procedures have been and will be implemented. Accordingly, as part of its review, the FISC considers the compliance incidents reported to it by the Government through notices and reports.

For additional background information, please refer to the 2020 Statistical Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities for CY2019 posted on Intel.gov and IC on the Record.

Intelligence Community Releases Artificial Intelligence...

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 10:35:06 -0400

Intelligence Community Releases Artificial Intelligence Principles and Framework

Narrowing the gap between data collection and decision making is a top priority for the Intelligence Community, but the pace at which data is generated is increasing exponentially—and the IC workforce available to analyze the data is not. Artificial intelligence provides powerful tools to execute this mission, but also brings new challenges.That makes it even more important that the IC to implement AI in a manner that is both ethical and consistent with our values.

Which is to say that AI is about much more than technology. The IC must ensure that technological changes do not change our commitment to protecting privacy and civil liberties in the course of our work.That’s why our data scientists, privacy and civil liberties officers and other key stakeholders worked together to develop the Principles of AI Ethics for the Intelligence Community as well as a framework to ensure that these principles are incorporated into our design and use of this technology.

This framework is a living document, and we’re eager for your feedback on how we can continue to expand and refine it to keep pace with this rapidly evolving technology.

View the AI Principles of Ethics for the IC
View the AI Ethics Framework for the IC
Read the press release at DNI.gov

ODNI Releases Annual Intelligence Community Transparency Report

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 11:59:04 -0400

April 30, 2020

Today, consistent with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), as amended (codified in 50 U.S.C. § 1873(b)), and the Intelligence Community’s (IC) Principles of Intelligence Transparency, we are releasing our seventh annual Statistical Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities presenting statistics on how often the government uses certain national security authorities.

Providing these statistics allows for an additional way to track the use of FISA authorities, National Security Letters (NSLs), and the dissemination of information within the government when required. The statistics also add further context regarding the IC’s rigorous and multi-layered oversight framework that safeguards the privacy of United States persons’ information and non-U.S. persons’ information acquired pursuant to these national security authorities. This report goes beyond the government’s statutory duty of releasing statistics by further providing the public with detailed explanations as to how the IC uses its national security authorities.

“While secrecy is necessary for many aspects of intelligence, it is our obligation to provide the public with appropriate and effective transparency to allow individuals to make their own judgments on how the Intelligence Community uses the authorities that have been granted by the American people,” said Ben Huebner, Chief, ODNI Civil Liberties, Privacy, and Transparency Office. “We are therefore pleased to publish our seventh annual statistical transparency report. More than a list of figures, this report provides explanations and context regarding how the Intelligence Community uses key authorities. As with past reports, the information contained in today’s report will allow the public to continue a fact-based discussion on how we achieve both national security and the protection of our privacy and our liberty.”

Additional public information on national security authorities is available on the ODNI website, www.dni.gov, the IC’s public website, www.intel.gov, and ODNI’s public Tumblr site, IC on the Record at IContheRecord.tumblr.com.

Statistical Transparency Report Regarding National Security Authorities Calendar Year 2019

IC Elements’ Procedures on Requests for U.S. Person Identities...

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 11:52:41 -0400

IC Elements’ Procedures on Requests for U.S. Person Identities in Disseminated Intelligence Reports

April 30, 2020

Today, we are releasing individual Intelligence Community element’s procedures (or summary of such procedures) for implementing Intelligence Community Policy Guidance 107.1, “Requests for Identities of US Persons in Disseminated Intelligence Reports.” Such requests are commonly referred to as “unmasking.”

ICPG 107.1 directs each IC element to develop and maintain procedure to respond to requests for unmasking. After the elements developed their respective procedures, they began implementing their procedures in January 2019. These procedures are provided below.

Additionally, ICPG 107.1 requires the IC elements to annually report, to the Director of National Intelligence and to Congress, the number of unmasking requests each element received as well as the number of requests it approved or denied.

ICPG 107.1 also requires the DNI to publicly report the total number of unmasking request for the IC in the annual Statistical Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities.

The unmasking request numbers for calendar year 2019 will be reported in the IC’s statistical transparency report for calendar year 2019, which will be published on April 30, 2020 at DNI.gov, as well as posted here.

IC Element ICPG 107.1 Procedures

NOTE: FBI ICPG 107.1 unmasking guidelines have been implemented and the procedures will be published when they become available for public release.

Updated Guide to Posted Documents Regarding Use of National...

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 10:50:33 -0500

Updated Guide to Posted Documents Regarding Use of National Security Authorities

January 7, 2020

On September 19, 2017, we posted a text guide with links to certain officially released documents related to the use by the Intelligence Community of national security authorities. Today, we have once again updated that Guide to include links to additional officially released documents:

View Updated Guide to Posted Documents

These documents have been published to meet legal requirements, as well as to carry out the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the IC.

There are many more officially released documents available for public review than those captured in this new guide. In addition to this Updated Guide, the IC recently launched a new web portal, www.intelligence.gov, devoted to transparency, which features a section called the The Intel Vault.

The Intel Vault’s IC on the Record Database enables users to conduct full-text searches of the Section 702 documents posted on IC on the Record. Newly released documents will be regularly added to this database.

Release of Documents Related to the 2018 FISA Section 702...

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 14:29:10 -0400

Release of Documents Related to the 2018 FISA Section 702 Certifications

October 8, 2019

Today the ODNI, in consultation with the Department of Justice, is releasing documents, in redacted form, related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) approval of the 2018 Certifications under Section 702 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Initially, the FISC approved most aspects of the 2018 Certifications but found that certain parts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) procedures concerning the querying of United States persons were not sufficient. The Government appealed this decision to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISC-R), which affirmed the FISC’s decision in part. The Government subsequently submitted amended FBI querying procedures to address the issues, and the FISC found that the amended procedures were sufficient.

In addition to releasing the FISC and FISC-R opinions and to provide greater transparency to the public, we are also releasing all the targeting, minimization, and querying procedures related to the 2018 Certifications. Links to these documents, along with descriptions on the court decisions and background information on Section 702, are provided below. The documents are also posted in full-text searchable format on Intel.gov.

The 2018 Certifications and the FISC’s April Extension Order

In March 2018, the Government had submitted the 2018 Certifications from the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence. The 2018 Certifications, which contained required targeting, minimization, and querying procedures, sought to renew the expiring 2016 Certifications. In April 2018, the FISC issued an order finding that the 2018 Certifications and accompanying procedures “likely present[ed] one or more novel or significant interpretations of law, the consideration of which would benefit from amicus participation.” The FISC found “good cause” to extend the time for its consideration of the 2018 Certifications to provide for meaningful amicus curiae participation in the matter.

FISC’s April 5, 2018 Order (released pursuant to the IC’s Principles of Transparency)

Background on the 2016 Certifications: The 2016 certifications were submitted to the FISC in September 2016. The FISC twice extended its time to consider the 2016 certifications and ultimately approved them on April 26, 2017 with an expiration date of April 26, 2018 (see FISC’s April 26, 2017 Memorandum and Opinion posted on May 10, 2017 on IC on the Record). Because review of the 2016 certifications were extended through 2017 and because the 2016 certification authority did not expire until April 2018, the Government did not submit certifications in 2017.

The FISC’s October 2018 Opinion

After receiving briefings and holding hearings involving the Government and Court-appointed amici curiae, the FISC issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order on October 18, 2018, (hereafter the FISC’s October 2018 Opinion), approving most aspects of the 2018 Certifications and accompanying targeting, minimization, and querying procedures. This opinion is linked below.

The FISC found that “the minimization procedures and querying procedures to be implemented by the FBI are consistent with the requirements of Section 702(e) and Section 702(f)(1)(A)-(B) respectively and of the Fourth Amendment, except insofar as they [were] inconsistent” with those authorities in two aspects. First, the FISC found that the FBI’s retention of all query terms without differentiating which terms concern U.S. persons did not meet the requirements of Section 702(f)(1)(B) of FISA, a provision enacted as part of the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 requiring the Government to adopt querying procedures that, among other things, “include a technical procedure whereby a record is kept of each United States person query term used for a query.” The FISC concluded that Section 702(f)(1)(B) requires that the FBI’s query records indicate which terms concern U.S. persons.

The FISC also concluded that the FBI’s querying and minimization procedures, as implemented, were inconsistent with Section 702 and the Fourth Amendment, in light of certain identified compliance incidents involving queries of Section 702 information. These incidents involved instances in which personnel either misapplied or misunderstood the query standard, such that the queries were not reasonably likely to return foreign intelligence information or evidence of a crime. Some of these instances involved queries concerning large numbers of individuals. While stating that the Government had taken “constructive steps” to address the identified issues, the FISC held that these steps did not fully address the statutory and Fourth Amendment concerns raised by the compliance incidents. The FISC suggested, however, that these statutory and Fourth Amendment concerns would be remedied if the Government adopted a proposal made by amici to document, in writing, the basis for the FBI’s belief that a particular query of Section 702 data using a U.S. person query term is reasonably likely to return foreign-intelligence information or evidence of crime before FBI personnel examined the content of Section 702 information returned by such queries. The 2018 Querying Procedures submitted by the other agencies, which were approved by the FISC as noted above, include this same documentation requirement.

Additionally, the FISC considered the scope of certain new restrictions regarding “abouts” communications that were enacted in the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017. “Abouts” collection is the acquisition of communications that contain a reference to, but are not to or from, a Section 702 target. As the NSA explained in April 2017 (see NSA’s April 28, 2017 Statement), the NSA stopped acquiring any upstream internet communications that are solely “about” a foreign intelligence target and, instead, limited its Section 702 collection to only those communications that are directly “to” or “from” a foreign intelligence target. NSA’s 2018 Targeting Procedures contained the same limitation. Although the Government did not seek to resume “abouts” collection, the FISC, with assistance from amici, reviewed whether the “abouts” restrictions applied to any other types of Section 702 acquisitions currently being conducted. While the FISC held that the “abouts” restrictions apply across Section 702 acquisitions, it found that current Section 702 acquisitions did not implicate the “abouts” restrictions.

FISC’s October 2018 Opinion (released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1872)

Appeal and FISC-R July 2019 Opinion

The Government appealed the FISC’s deficiency finding related to the FBI’s procedures to the FISC-R which, after briefings and oral arguments by the Government and amici, issued a per curiam opinion on July 12, 2019, affirming in part the FISC’s decision (hereafter FISC-R’s July 2019 Opinion). This opinion is hyperlinked below.

Like the FISC, the FISC-R concluded that “Section702(f)(1)(B) is best interpreted as requiring some kind of technical procedure that requires agency personnel to memorialize, to the extent reasonably feasible, whether a query term is a United States person query term.” Because the FISC-R’s conclusion regarding Section 702(f)(1)(B) required the Government to amend the FBI’s querying procedures, it declined to reach the issue of whether the FBI’s querying and minimization procedures complied with the requirements of FISA and the Fourth Amendment.

FISC-R July 2019 Opinion (released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1872)

FBI’s Amended Querying Procedures

In response, the Government submitted, on August 12, 2019, amended FBI querying procedures (linked below) addressing the concerns identified in both the FISC and FISC-R opinions. The FBI’s amended querying procedures require that:

the FBI’s query records differentiate between U.S. person queries and all other queries;
the FBI record a written justification stating why a U.S. person query was reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of a crime prior to reviewing the contents returned by such a query; and
the FBI make available records generated under these requirements to enable oversight by the Department of Justice and ODNI.

To implement the new provisions, the FBI assesses that it will complete the necessary modifications to two of its three applicable systems and provide training on the new requirements by approximately mid-December 2019. The FBI is considering whether or not to modify the third system or to stop using that system to hold unminimized Section 702 collection. In the interim, the FBI will require that the necessary query records be created outside that system.

FISC’s Amended September 2019 Opinion

On September 4, 2019, the FISC approved the FBI’s amended querying procedures, explaining that the revisions remedy the deficiencies contained in the earlier procedures. Thus, the FISC held that the FBI’s minimization and querying procedures were consistent with the requirements of Section 702 and the Fourth Amendment.

FISC’s September 2019 Opinion (released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1872)

2018 Section 702 Certifications Procedures

2018 Targeting Procedures (released pursuant to the IC’s Principles of Transparency):

2018 Minimization and Querying Procedures (released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1881a(e)):

Background on Section 702: Section 702 was enacted as part of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) and most recently reauthorized by the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017. Section 702 permits the Attorney General and the DNI to jointly authorize, through certifications, the targeting of (i) non-U.S. persons (ii) who are reasonably believed to be located outside the United States (iii) to acquire foreign intelligence information. These certifications are accompanied by targeting procedures, minimization procedures, and querying procedures that are each designed to ensure that the Government’s collection is appropriately targeted against non-United States persons located overseas who may possess or are likely to communicate foreign intelligence information and that any such collection is appropriately handled in a manner that protects privacy and civil liberties.

For additional background information, please refer to the 2019 Statistical Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities for CY2018 posted on ODNI’s website IC on the Record.

NSA Office of the Inspector General Releases Semi-Annual Report...

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 15:36:06 -0400

Oversight

Cover -- NSA Semi-Annual Report to Congress

NSA Office of the Inspector General Releases Semi-Annual Report to Congress

July 18, 2019

The National Security Agency/Central Security Service Office of the Inspector General has released an unclassified version of its latest Semi-Annual Report to Congress on its public website, OIG.NSA.GOV. This report details NSA OIG’s activities from October 1, 2018-March 31, 2019.

Thirteen reports and oversight memoranda were issued by the NSA OIG during this period, including 198 recommendations to assist the Agency in addressing the findings and deficiencies identified. NSA’s management agreed with all OIG recommendations made during this period. Prior to the public release of the report, the Director of the NSA and Congress received the classified version of the SAR in accordance with the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended.

The NSA OIG conducts independent oversight that promotes Agency respect for Constitutional rights, adherence to laws, rules, and regulations, and the wise use of public resources. Through investigations and reviews, the OIG detects and deters waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct, while promoting the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of Agency operations.

Consistent with the Principles for Intelligence Transparency, NSA OIG makes an unclassified version of its reports available to the public to increase understanding regarding the authorities and oversight that govern NSA’s programs.

Updated Guide to Posted Documents Regarding Use of National...

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 13:13:07 -0400

Updated Guide to Posted Documents Regarding Use of National Security Authorities

June 24, 2019

On September 19, 2017, we posted a guide with links to certain officially released documents related to the use by the Intelligence Community (IC) of national security authorities. Today, we have once again updated that Guide to include links to additional officially released documents:

View Updated Guide to Posted Documents

These documents have been published to meet legal requirements, as well as to carry out the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the IC.

ODNI Releases Annual Intelligence Community Transparency...

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 12:19:20 -0400

ODNI Releases Annual Intelligence Community Transparency Report

April 30, 2019

Today, consistent with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), as amended (codified in 50 U.S.C. § 1873(b)), and the Intelligence Community’s (IC) Principles of Intelligence Transparency, we are releasing our sixth annual Statistical Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities presenting statistics on how often the government uses certain national security authorities.

Providing these statistics allows for an additional way to track the use of FISA authorities and National Security Letters (NSLs). The statistics also add further context regarding the IC’s rigorous and multi-layered oversight framework that safeguards the privacy of United States persons’ information and non-U.S. persons’ information acquired pursuant to these national security authorities. This report goes beyond the government’s statutory duty of providing statistics by further providing the public with detailed explanations as to how the IC uses its national security authorities.

“We’re again pleased to publish our annual statistical transparency report – the 6th annual report,” said Alex Joel, who leads the ODNI’s Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy, and Transparency. “As with past reports, this report provides statistics and explanations on how we use key authorities. Because it is important to understand these statistics in a broader context, we strive to explain that context clearly, which is challenging given the complexities of the authorities and the classified nature of these topics. We continue to look for ways to improve understanding of these authorities. Besides the new format and navigation of this year’s report, we are also pleased to be able to release, for the first time, the number of unique identifiers used to communicate information collected pursuant to Call Detail Records (CDRs) orders obtained per Section 501(b)(2)c.”

Additional public information on national security authorities is available at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s website, www.dni.gov, the Intelligence Community’s public website, www.intel.gov, and ODNI’s public Tumblr site, IC on the Record at IContheRecord.tumblr.com.

Statistical Transparency Report Regarding National Security Authorities Calendar Year 2018

Argentina Declassification ProjectApril 12, 2019Today, at the...

Mon, 15 Apr 2019 08:53:51 -0400

Argentina Declassification Project

April 12, 2019

Today, at the request of the President of the United States, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a fourth and final tranche of records for the U.S. Declassification Project for Argentina.

Today’s release marked the completion of the project, which originated with a personal request by Argentine President Mauricio Macri in 2016 to provide the Government of Argentina with declassified records related to human rights abuses committed during the military occupancy of Argentina between 1975 and 1984. Previous tranches of records were released in April 2016, December 2016, and April 2017.

The final release of records is the result of a multi-year effort that involved 16 departments and agencies of the U.S. federal government, including the Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Archives and Records Administration, the archives of four presidential libraries, and several components of the Department of Defense.

A formal ceremony, including the official transfer of the records, took place this morning at the National Archives and Records Center in Washington, D.C.

Following the event, an online portal housing the entire collection of records declassified and released for the project launched at intel.gov/argentina. The online portal is hosted by ODNI and contains nearly 50,000 pages.

The project is the largest government-to-government declassification release in United States history. These newly declassified records represent a continued commitment by the United States to promote justice and reconciliation in Argentina, to underscore the importance of transparency, and to highlight our shared commitment to human rights.

To learn more about previously-released documents, visit earlier IC on the Record posts from August 27, 2017, August 8, 2016 and December 12, 2016.

Release of Joint Assessments of Section 702 ComplianceMarch 4,...

Mon, 04 Mar 2019 08:13:47 -0500

Release of Joint Assessments of Section 702 Compliance

March 4, 2019

Today the DNI, in consultation with the Department of Justice, is releasing in redacted form the 18th Semiannual Assessment of Compliance with Procedures and Guidelines Issued Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Submitted by the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence (“Joint Assessment”). The DNI is releasing this semiannual assessment proactively, in keeping with the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community (IC) (“IC’s Transparency Principles”).

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (hereafter FAA), which was in effect during the reporting period of this 18th Joint Assessment required the Attorney General and the DNI to assess compliance with Section 702 procedures over a particular six month period and to submit such assessments semiannually to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and relevant congressional committees. See then-codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1881(l)(1); now codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1881(m)(1) with the enactment of the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 (hereafter FAA Reauthorization of 2017). A joint team of experts (the Joint Oversight Team) from DOJ and ODNI conduct these assessments.

This Joint Assessment describes the extensive measures the Government has undertaken to ensure compliance with FISC-approved targeting and minimization procedures; to accurately identify, record, and correct errors; to take responsive actions to remove any erroneously obtained data; and to minimize the chances that mistakes will recur. This Joint Assessment found that the agencies continue to implement the procedures in a manner that reflects a focused and concerted effort by IC personnel to comply with the requirements of Section 702, including being appropriately focused on directing efforts at non-United States persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States for the purpose of acquiring foreign intelligence information.

Since the release of the 9th Joint Assessment (dated August 2013), in redacted form, on August 21, 2013, on IC on the Record, ODNI and DOJ have prepared subsequent Joint Assessments to enhance public readability, where feasible. Consistent with the IC’s Transparency Principles, ODNI coordinated an extensive interagency review process to ensure the greatest transparency while protecting national security information, in order to enhance public understanding of the government’s implementation of Section 702. Most recently, the 16th and 17th Joint Assessments were released in October 2018, adding to the previous releases of the 13th – 15th in January 2017; the 10th – 12th; and the 1st – 3rd Joint Assessments.

Below is today’s release, in redacted form, of the:

18th Joint Assessment – dated October 2018, for reporting period December 2016 – May 2017

DNI Coats Unveils the 2019 National Intelligence StrategyJanuary...

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 11:00:32 -0500

DNI Coats Unveils the 2019 National Intelligence Strategy

January 22, 2019

Director of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats unveiled the 2019 National Intelligence Strategy (NIS) today. The NIS is the guiding strategy for the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) and will drive the strategic direction for the Nation’s 17 IC elements for the next four years.

The 2019 strategy is the fourth iteration for the NIS and seeks to make our nation more secure by driving the IC to be more integrated, agile, resilient, and innovative.

“This strategy is based on the core principle of seeking the truth and speaking the truth to our policymakers and the American people in order to protect our country,” said Director Coats. “As a Community, we must become more agile, build and leverage partnerships, and apply the most advanced technologies in pursuit of unmatched insights. The 2019 NIS provides a roadmap to achieve this end.”

The NIS is one of the most important documents for the IC, as it aligns IC efforts to the National Security Strategy, sets priorities and objectives, and focuses resources on current and future operational, acquisition, and capability development decisions. Also, the NIS provides the IC with the opportunity to communicate those national priorities to the IC workforce, partners, oversight, customers, and fellow citizens.

The 2019 NIS focuses on:

Integration - harnessing the full talent and tools of the IC by bringing the right information, to the right people, at the right time.
Innovation - making the IC more agile by swiftly enabling the right people and leveraging the right technology and using them efficiently to advance the highest priorities.
Partnerships - leveraging strong, unique, and valuable partnerships to support and enable national security outcomes.
Transparency - earning and upholding the trust and faith of the IC’s customers and the American people.

The NIS was developed in response to rapid advances made by our adversaries and the ODNI’s recognition that the IC needs to change to more effectively respond to those challenges.

In his 2019 NIS opening message, the DNI states, “We face a significant challenge in the domestic and global environment; we must be ready to meet 21st century challenges and to recognize emerging threats and opportunities. To navigate today’s turbulent and complex strategic environment, we must do things differently.”

To guide the IC in facing these challenges, the NIS identifies and explains the IC’s objectives - both what the Community must accomplish (mission objectives) and what capabilities the Community must build in order to do so (enterprise objectives).

The seven mission objectives are 1) strategic intelligence; 2) anticipatory intelligence; 3) current operations intelligence; 4) cyber threat intelligence; 5) counterterrorism; 6) counterproliferation; and 7) counterintelligence and security.

The seven enterprise objectives are 1) integrated mission management; 2) integrated business management; 3) people; 4) innovation; 5) information sharing and safeguarding; 6) partnerships; and 7) privacy, civil liberties, and transparency.

“These objectives will allow the IC to continue the crucial work of supporting our senior policymakers, warfighters, and democracy while increasing transparency and protecting privacy and civil liberties,” said Director Coats.

The NIS includes the seven Principles of Professional Ethics for the Intelligence Community: 1) mission; 2) truth; 3) lawfulness; 4) integrity; 5) stewardship; 6) excellence; and 7) diversity. The NIS also includes the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community.

“Transparency will be our hallmark, and I cannot stress this enough - this is not a limitation on us,” said Director Coats. “Transparency will make us stronger. It is the right thing to do, across the board. This is the reason we publish the NIS at the unclassified level.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence oversees the coordination and integration of the 17 federal organizations that make up the Intelligence Community. The DNI sets the priorities for and manages the implementation of the National Intelligence Program, which is the IC’s budget. Additionally, the DNI is the principal advisor to the President and the National Security Council on all intelligence issues related to national security.

National Intelligence Strategy 2019 DNI.gov Link - https://go.usa.gov/xEZsA
NIS @ A Glance Intel.gov Link - https://go.usa.gov/xEZsF

IC ON THE RECORD

Release of the 20th Joint Assessment of Section 702...

Release of the 20th Joint Assessment of Section 702 Compliance

ODNI, DOJ, and DHS Release Unclassified Summary of Assessment on Domestic Violent...

ODNI, DOJ, and DHS Release Unclassified Summary of Assessment on Domestic Violent Extremism

ODNI Releases Intelligence Community Assessment of Foreign...

ODNI Releases Intelligence Community Assessment of Foreign Threats to the 2020 U.S. Elections

Assessing the Saudi Government’s Role in the Killing of...

Assessing the Saudi Government’s Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi

ODNI Releases ODNI-Attorney General Procedures for Conducting...

ODNI Releases ODNI-Attorney General Procedures for Conducting Intelligence Activities

Release of the 19th Joint Assessment of Section 702...

Release of the 19th Joint Assessment of Section 702 Compliance

Release of FISA Opinion Regarding Electronic Surveillance...

Release of FISA Opinion Regarding Electronic Surveillance Technique

Release of Court Opinion Related to the Temporary Retention,...

Release of Court Opinion Related to the Temporary Retention, Use, and Disclosure of Unlawful FISA Collection

Release of Documents Related to the 2019 FISA Section 702...

Release of Documents Related to the 2019 FISA Section 702 Certifications

Intelligence Community Releases Artificial Intelligence...

Intelligence Community Releases Artificial Intelligence Principles and Framework

ODNI Releases Annual Intelligence Community Transparency Report

IC Elements’ Procedures on Requests for U.S. Person Identities...

IC Elements’ Procedures on Requests for U.S. Person Identities in Disseminated Intelligence Reports

Updated Guide to Posted Documents Regarding Use of National...

Updated Guide to Posted Documents Regarding Use of National Security Authorities

Release of Documents Related to the 2018 FISA Section 702...

Release of Documents Related to the 2018 FISA Section 702 Certifications

The 2018 Certifications and the FISC’s April Extension Order

The FISC’s October 2018 Opinion

Appeal and FISC-R July 2019 Opinion

FBI’s Amended Querying Procedures

FISC’s Amended September 2019 Opinion

2018 Section 702 Certifications Procedures

NSA Office of the Inspector General Releases Semi-Annual Report...

NSA Office of the Inspector General Releases Semi-Annual Report to Congress

Updated Guide to Posted Documents Regarding Use of National...

Updated Guide to Posted Documents Regarding Use of National Security Authorities

ODNI Releases Annual Intelligence Community Transparency...

ODNI Releases Annual Intelligence Community Transparency Report

Argentina Declassification ProjectApril 12, 2019Today, at the...

Argentina Declassification Project

Release of Joint Assessments of Section 702 ComplianceMarch 4,...

Release of Joint Assessments of Section 702 Compliance

DNI Coats Unveils the 2019 National Intelligence StrategyJanuary...

DNI Coats Unveils the 2019 National Intelligence Strategy

Release of the 20^th Joint Assessment of Section 702 Compliance

Release of the 19^th Joint Assessment of Section 702 Compliance