Efforts to combat foreign hackers targeting critical American infrastructure lead to significant increase

  • Disclosures of U.S. identities in spy reports nearly tripled last year
  • Increase largely due to efforts to combat foreign hackers targeting critical American infrastructure
  • National Security Agency disclosed identifying information over 30,000 times in 2023
  • Highest recorded surge in unmasking since transparency reports began
  • Unmaskings related to cyberattack on critical infrastructure and U.S. companies
  • Concerns raised about Chinese hackers pre-positioning in American systems
  • Overall increase in unmaskings could include thousands of additional instances
  • Unmasking governed by strict rules to prevent political use or leaks
  • Section 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows collection of foreign intelligence information
  • Bipartisan effort to create warrant requirement for U.S. searches narrowly failed

The National Security Agency disclosed identifying information more than 30,000 times about U.S. residents or corporations in surveillance reports shared among senior federal government officials last year, nearly triple the previous year’s amount. This surge in unmasking, the highest recorded since transparency reports began, was largely due to efforts to combat foreign hackers targeting critical American infrastructure. The increase included unmaskings related to a cyberattack on critical infrastructure and U.S. companies. Concerns have been raised about Chinese hackers pre-positioning themselves in American systems. The overall increase in unmaskings could still include thousands of additional instances. Unmasking is governed by strict rules to prevent political use or leaks. The report also revealed that searches of U.S. data collected under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act fell by more than half last year. A bipartisan effort to create a warrant requirement for U.S. searches narrowly failed.

Factuality Level: 8
Factuality Justification: The article provides detailed information about the increase in unmasking by the National Security Agency in 2023, including the reasons behind the surge and the context of the surveillance practices. It includes quotes from senior intelligence officials and government reports to support the information presented. The article also mentions the political implications of unmasking during the Trump administration and the recent renewal of the law authorizing the collection of foreign intelligence data. Overall, the article is well-researched and provides a comprehensive overview of the topic.
Noise Level: 3
Noise Justification: The article provides detailed information about the increase in unmasking by the National Security Agency, the context behind the surge, and the implications of the surveillance practices. It includes relevant details about the surveillance reports, the legal framework, and the potential consequences of the unmasking. The article stays on topic and supports its claims with examples and quotes from senior officials. However, it could benefit from more analysis on the implications of such surveillance practices on privacy and civil liberties.
Financial Relevance: No
Financial Markets Impacted: No
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Rating Justification: This news article does not pertain to financial topics and does not describe any extreme events.
Private Companies: National Security Agency
Key People: Becky Richards (Head of Civil Liberties and Privacy at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence)

Reported publicly: www.wsj.com