Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and the Challenges of "going Dark"

Extremists fueled by anti-Western propaganda remain intent on inflicting harm on U.S. interests at home and abroad. Over the past year we've witnessed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also referred to as "ISIL" or the "Islamic State" or "Daesh," attempt to inspire a wide range of individuals to conduct attacks against innocent civilians. Largely as a result of ISIL's media savvy, the number of U.S.- based individuals in 2015 seeking to conduct attacks in the homeland, or overseas to join ISIL, has already exceeded the combined number of individuals attempting these activities in 2013 and 2014. Unfortunately, the threats facing our Nation are not limited to terrorist actors. Foreign governments remain intent on stealing our country's most valuable trade, intellectual property and national security secrets. The FBI is charged with confronting all these threats as well and is continually challenged by the capabilities and tradecraft employed by these nation-state actors. In addition to these fairly unique jurisdictional issues, the FBI conducts routine law enforcement investigations of drug trafficking, theft of government property, child pornography, robbery, extortion, murder, in addition to many other things]. These criminals are also turning to encrypted communications as a means of evading detection. Communications between a terrorist organization's operational commanders and field soldiers require enabling technology. Communications between a foreign state and its spies also require enabling technology. In both cases, the enabling technology used by terrorists and foreign state spies is increasingly secure encrypted communications.