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Kiran S. RajCounsel to the Deputy Attorney GeneralOffice of the Deputy Attorney General
FY 14-15: Agency Priority Goal
National Security
Priority Goal
Goal Overview
Terrorism is the most significant national security threat that the country faces. Accordingly, the Department’s number one priority is, and will continue to be, protecting the security of this Nation’s citizens. The Administration has recognized that terrorism cannot be defeated by military means alone. The Department of Justice serves at the forefront of the fight against terrorism, providing a broad spectrum of tools, resources, and skills to combat terrorists. Specifically, the Department’s agents, analysts, and prosecutors will continue to use every available resource and appropriate tool to detect, deter, and disrupt terrorist plots, investigate and prosecute terrorists, and aid in developing rule of law programs in post-conflict countries to help prevent terrorism abroad. The Department will aggressively pursue emerging threats around the world and at home, enhance the ability to gather and analyze actionable intelligence, and engage in outreach efforts to all communities in order to prevent terrorism before it occurs.
Cyber activities, likewise, constitute a growing threat to our national security. As an initial matter, an increasing number of sophisticated state and non-state actors have both the desire and the capability to steal sensitive data, trade secrets, and intellectual property for military and competitive advantage. In addition, cyber-enabled terrorism poses a viable threat to national security. Although the United States has not yet encountered terrorist organizations using the Internet to launch a full-scale cyber-attack, the Department believes that it is a question of when, not if, they will attempt to do so. The cyber threat demands ready and fluid means of sharing information and coordinating actions and responses. In order to successfully investigate and disrupt cyber threats, the Department must be creative and forward-looking in its approach, considering what kinds of tools, investigations, and outreach can be launched now to lay the groundwork for future cyber protective efforts.
Strategies
To facilitate its mission of defeating terrorism, the Department will focus its resources on targeting and disrupting terrorist threats and groups, information sharing, as well as develop and utilize the latest technology to counter emerging trends. The Department will inform and educate members of the U.S. Intelligence Community, Law Enforcement, and the public to increase the ability to protect Americans from terrorism and other threats to national security – both at home and abroad. To provide transparency regarding its work in the area of counterterrorism, the Department will disclose a key statistic: the number of terrorism disruptions. A terrorism disruption involves interrupting or inhibiting a threat actor from engaging in criminal or national security related activity. A disruption is the result of direct actions and may include but is not limited to the arrest; seizure of assets; or impairing the operational capabilities of key threat actors.
In order to protect the United States from cyber-attacks, one of the principal goals and objectives is to disrupt and dismantle cyber threat actors preemptively and effectively. A cyber threat actor is any nation-state, organized group, or individual who engages in unauthorized computer (or computer network) access or attacks in violation of U.S. law. To provide transparency regarding its work in the area of combating cyber threats, the Department will disclose a key statistic: the number of computer intrusion program disruptions and dismantlements. A cyber dismantlement means that the targeted organization’s leadership, financial base and supply network has been destroyed, such that the organization is incapable of operating and/or reconstituting itself. Cyber disruptions constitute milestones in the overall process of dismantling such a group or organized criminal enterprise. In effect, disruptions force an organization to adopt unfamiliar patterns or use less experienced personnel. These obstacles to the group or enterprise create opportunities for additional disruptions, building momentum for the ultimate goal of dismantling dangerous organizations. For example, in June 2013, the FBI and private sector leaders successfully disrupted more than 1,000 botnets built on Citadel malware in a massive global cybercrime operation that was estimated by the financial services industry to have been responsible for over half a billion dollars in financial fraud. To disrupt and dismantle cyber threat actors, the Department will continue to share information and develop and employ the latest technology to counter emerging trends.
Progress Update
The FBI substantially exceeded its 2-year target of disrupting 175 terrorist threats and groups, disrupting a total of 654 in FY 2014-2015. For the fourth quarter of FY 2015, the number of terrorism disruptions effected through counterterrorism (CT) investigations was 139 for the fourth quarter of FY 2015. The annual target of 125 was significantly surpassed due to several factors; such as, increasing threats in other regions and external plotting directed at the homeland and U.S. interests abroad. The FBI remains proactively positioned to combat a constantly evolving threat landscape, which can lead to disparities between reported disruptions total and previously established targets.
The FBI is responsible for investigating criminal and national security cyber threats through its Cyber Division (CyD). The FBI also operates the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF), which serves as a national focal point for the U.S. Government to coordinate, integrate, and share information related to all cyber threat investigations. To facilitate its mission of countering cyber threats, the FBI is focusing resources on targeting and disrupting the top cyber threat actors, leveraging its workforce, and developing and utilizing the latest technology to counter emerging trends. Disruptions are milestones in the process of dismantling a group or organized criminal enterprise. Disruptions force an organization to adopt unfamiliar patterns or use less experienced personnel. These missteps create opportunities for additional disruptions, building momentum for the ultimate goal of the dismantlement of the organization. Through its centralized program management, FBI’s Cyber Division measures disruptions and dismantlements across the nation’s 56 field offices. Going forward into FY 2016, the FBI will continue to execute its cyber mission by identifying, pursuing, and defeating cyber adversaries targeting global U.S. interests.
The FBI surpassed its 2-year target of 600 computer intrusion program disruptions and dismantlements, conducting 2,971 disruptions and dismantlements in FY 2014 and 2015 combined. For FY 2015 Q4, the FBI had a total of 287 computer intrusion program disruptions and dismantlements, which brings the total for FY 2015 to 479, narrowly missing the annual target of 500. The FBI substantially exceeded its 2-year performance target in disrupting and dismantling the top cyber threat actors because of significant, coordinated operational activity. For example, in May 2014, the FBI New York Field Office announced the results of the largest law enforcement cyber action in U.S. history. This takedown was of a particularly insidious computer malware known as Blackshades, which was sold and distributed to thousands of people in more than 100 countries and was used to infect more than half a million computers worldwide. During Q1 of FY 2014, FBI Cyber Division’s investigative efforts led to the disruption and takedown of 1,930 hostnames that were being used by cyber criminals to control victim computers, which represents 65% of the total computer intrusion disruption and dismantlement claimed for all of FY 2014-2015. Although the FBI continues to aggressively pursue cyber criminals to disrupt and dismantle the most significant threat actors, FBI Cyber Division cannot predict when another major takedown will occur. As such, the FBI cannot target or predict the number of computer intrusion program disruptions and dismantlements that will occur in any given quarter given the nature of operational campaigns.
In support of its national security mission, the FBI leverages current and new technology to effectively share intelligence with the U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) and Law Enforcement (LE). This effort is quantified by the number of Guardian and eGuardian incidents shared between the FBI, USIC, and LE community partners. In the fourth quarter of FY 2015, 2,411 incidents were shared, which brings the total for FY 2015 to 9,017 incidents shared. During FY 2014-2015, the total number of Guardian and eGuardian incidents shared was 20,646. The reported numbers underscore the value of Guardian and eGuardian in raising awareness of threats and disrupting terrorist activity before it occurs.
Following the fourth quarter of FY 2015, the FBI has supplied live Guardian subject data to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as outlined in the MOU. CBP continues to experience technical issues but has conducted test responses based on this live data. CBP continues to work through their technical issues with FBI support. The milestone is 95% complete and will be fully complete pending the resolution of these issues.
The Department will continue to report the FY 2014-2015 National Security Priority Goal performance measures via the FY 2016-2017 National Security and Cyber Priority Goals.
Next Steps
No Data Available
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Performance Indicators
Number of terrorism disruptions
Number of computer intrusion program disruptions and dismantlements
Number of Guardian and eGuardian incidents shared between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Intelligence Community, and law enforcement community partners
Contributing Programs & Other Factors
- Federal Bureau of Investigation – Counterterrorism Division
- Federal Bureau of Investigation – Cyber Division
- National Security Division
- Criminal Division – Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section
- United States Attorneys’ Offices
Expand All
Strategic Goals
Strategic Goal:
Prevent Terrorism and Promote the Nation’s Security Consistent with the Rule of Law
Statement:
Prevent Terrorism and Promote the Nation’s Security Consistent with the Rule of Law
Strategic Objectives
Statement:
Prevent, disrupt, and defeat terrorist operations before they occur by integrating intelligence and law enforcement efforts to achieve a coordinated response to terrorist threats
Description:
Combating terrorism is DOJ’s top priority. The Attorney General, acting primarily through the FBI, has principal investigative responsibility for all criminal acts of terrorism (18 U.S.C. § 2332b(f)). A key tenet of this objective is to ensure that intelligence and law enforcement agencies are able to use all available tools to investigate vigorously and prevent acts of terrorism in a manner consistent with law.
Statement:
Prosecute those involved in terrorist acts
Description:
Vigorously investigating and prosecuting terrorism offenses is a critical tool in the effort to incapacitate terrorists, gather valuable intelligence, and deter future acts of terrorism. Since September 11, 2001, DOJ’s counterterrorism successes include achieving numerous criminal convictions of high-profile terrorists, defeating would-be terrorists, and protecting the Nation through prevention efforts. The investigation, disruption, and prosecution of terrorism will continue to be the top priority for the Department.
Statement:
Investigate and prosecute espionage activity against the United States, strengthen partnerships with potential targets of intelligence intrusions, and proactively prevent insider threats
Description:
Foreign espionage strikes at the heart of U.S. national security, impacting political, military and economic arenas. The foreign intelligence threat to the United States is expanding, becoming more complex and less predictable. While traditional threats to national defense, military operations and policy, and intelligence, and science and technology remain, many intelligence threats are expanding their targets to include the burgeoning population of cleared defense contractors and other sectors affecting U.S. security, most notably sensitive economic information and emerging proprietary technology. Concurrently, foreign threats now have sophisticated networks of governmental and non-governmental entities using a wide array of intelligence collection platforms and engaging in long-term efforts to obtain sensitive information and threaten the security of the United States.
The Department will combat espionage by, among other things, vigorously investigating and prosecuting violations of espionage statutes and regulations. Additionally, DOJ will investigate and prosecute violations of export control and embargo statutes and regulations by combining intelligence and law enforcement to target individuals and networks involved in the illicit trafficking of controlled technologies and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and will expand its export control initiative to ensure nationwide coverage.
Statement:
Combat cyber-based threats and attacks, through the use of all available tools, strong private-public partnerships, and the investigation and prosecution of cyber threat actors
Description:
A range of cyber activities can diminish our security and siphon off valuable economic assets. A growing number of sophisticated state and non-state actors have both the desire and the capability to steal sensitive data, trade secrets, and intellectual property for military and competitive advantage. The other major national security threat in cyberspace is cyber-enabled terrorism. The Department believes that it is a question of when, not if, there will be attempts to do so.
The cyber threat demands ready and fluid means of sharing information and coordinating actions. To successfully investigate and disrupt cyber threats, the Department must be creative and forward-looking in its approach, considering what kinds of tools, investigations, and outreach can be launched now to lay the groundwork for future cyber efforts. As an example, the Department has partnered with nations worldwide in the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation, which will enhance its operational and investigative cyber capabilities through international cooperation and innovative technical solutions and systems. Collaboration with the private sector is also crucial to prevent breaches and protect confidential and proprietary information.
Agency Priority Goals
Statement:
National Security: Protect Americans from terrorism and other threats to National Security, including cyber security threats.
By September 30, 2015, the Department of Justice will: Disrupt 175 terrorist threats and groups and disrupt and dismantle 600 cyber threat actors.
Description:
Terrorism is the most significant national security threat that the country faces. Accordingly, the Department’s number one priority is, and will continue to be, protecting the security of this Nation’s citizens. The Administration has recognized that terrorism cannot be defeated by military means alone. The Department of Justice serves at the forefront of the fight against terrorism, providing a broad spectrum of tools, resources, and skills to combat terrorists. Specifically, the Department’s agents, analysts, and prosecutors will continue to use every available resource and appropriate tool to detect, deter, and disrupt terrorist plots, investigate and prosecute terrorists, and aid in developing rule of law programs in post-conflict countries to help prevent terrorism abroad. The Department will aggressively pursue emerging threats around the world and at home, enhance the ability to gather and analyze actionable intelligence, and engage in outreach efforts to all communities in order to prevent terrorism before it occurs.
Cyber activities, likewise, constitute a growing threat to our national security. As an initial matter, an increasing number of sophisticated state and non-state actors have both the desire and the capability to steal sensitive data, trade secrets, and intellectual property for military and competitive advantage. In addition, cyber-enabled terrorism poses a viable threat to national security. Although the United States has not yet encountered terrorist organizations using the Internet to launch a full-scale cyber-attack, the Department believes that it is a question of when, not if, they will attempt to do so. The cyber threat demands ready and fluid means of sharing information and coordinating actions and responses. In order to successfully investigate and disrupt cyber threats, the Department must be creative and forward-looking in its approach, considering what kinds of tools, investigations, and outreach can be launched now to lay the groundwork for future cyber protective efforts.
Strategic Objectives
Strategic Objective:
Prevent, disrupt, and defeat terrorist operations before they occur
Statement:
Prevent, disrupt, and defeat terrorist operations before they occur by integrating intelligence and law enforcement efforts to achieve a coordinated response to terrorist threats
Description:
Combating terrorism is DOJ’s top priority. The Attorney General, acting primarily through the FBI, has principal investigative responsibility for all criminal acts of terrorism (18 U.S.C. § 2332b(f)). A key tenet of this objective is to ensure that intelligence and law enforcement agencies are able to use all available tools to investigate vigorously and prevent acts of terrorism in a manner consistent with law.
Agency Priority Goals
Statement: National Security: Protect Americans from terrorism and other threats to National Security, including cyber security threats. By September 30, 2015, the Department of Justice will: Disrupt 175 terrorist threats and groups and disrupt and dismantle 600 cyber threat actors.
Description: Terrorism is the most significant national security threat that the country faces. Accordingly, the Department’s number one priority is, and will continue to be, protecting the security of this Nation’s citizens. The Administration has recognized that terrorism cannot be defeated by military means alone. The Department of Justice serves at the forefront of the fight against terrorism, providing a broad spectrum of tools, resources, and skills to combat terrorists. Specifically, the Department’s agents, analysts, and prosecutors will continue to use every available resource and appropriate tool to detect, deter, and disrupt terrorist plots, investigate and prosecute terrorists, and aid in developing rule of law programs in post-conflict countries to help prevent terrorism abroad. The Department will aggressively pursue emerging threats around the world and at home, enhance the ability to gather and analyze actionable intelligence, and engage in outreach efforts to all communities in order to prevent terrorism before it occurs. Cyber activities, likewise, constitute a growing threat to our national security. As an initial matter, an increasing number of sophisticated state and non-state actors have both the desire and the capability to steal sensitive data, trade secrets, and intellectual property for military and competitive advantage. In addition, cyber-enabled terrorism poses a viable threat to national security. Although the United States has not yet encountered terrorist organizations using the Internet to launch a full-scale cyber-attack, the Department believes that it is a question of when, not if, they will attempt to do so. The cyber threat demands ready and fluid means of sharing information and coordinating actions and responses. In order to successfully investigate and disrupt cyber threats, the Department must be creative and forward-looking in its approach, considering what kinds of tools, investigations, and outreach can be launched now to lay the groundwork for future cyber protective efforts.
Strategic Objective:
Statement:
Combat cyber-based threats and attacks, through the use of all available tools, strong private-public partnerships, and the investigation and prosecution of cyber threat actors
Description:
A range of cyber activities can diminish our security and siphon off valuable economic assets. A growing number of sophisticated state and non-state actors have both the desire and the capability to steal sensitive data, trade secrets, and intellectual property for military and competitive advantage. The other major national security threat in cyberspace is cyber-enabled terrorism. The Department believes that it is a question of when, not if, there will be attempts to do so.
The cyber threat demands ready and fluid means of sharing information and coordinating actions. To successfully investigate and disrupt cyber threats, the Department must be creative and forward-looking in its approach, considering what kinds of tools, investigations, and outreach can be launched now to lay the groundwork for future cyber efforts. As an example, the Department has partnered with nations worldwide in the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation, which will enhance its operational and investigative cyber capabilities through international cooperation and innovative technical solutions and systems. Collaboration with the private sector is also crucial to prevent breaches and protect confidential and proprietary information.
Agency Priority Goals
Statement: National Security: Protect Americans from terrorism and other threats to National Security, including cyber security threats. By September 30, 2015, the Department of Justice will: Disrupt 175 terrorist threats and groups and disrupt and dismantle 600 cyber threat actors.
Description: Terrorism is the most significant national security threat that the country faces. Accordingly, the Department’s number one priority is, and will continue to be, protecting the security of this Nation’s citizens. The Administration has recognized that terrorism cannot be defeated by military means alone. The Department of Justice serves at the forefront of the fight against terrorism, providing a broad spectrum of tools, resources, and skills to combat terrorists. Specifically, the Department’s agents, analysts, and prosecutors will continue to use every available resource and appropriate tool to detect, deter, and disrupt terrorist plots, investigate and prosecute terrorists, and aid in developing rule of law programs in post-conflict countries to help prevent terrorism abroad. The Department will aggressively pursue emerging threats around the world and at home, enhance the ability to gather and analyze actionable intelligence, and engage in outreach efforts to all communities in order to prevent terrorism before it occurs. Cyber activities, likewise, constitute a growing threat to our national security. As an initial matter, an increasing number of sophisticated state and non-state actors have both the desire and the capability to steal sensitive data, trade secrets, and intellectual property for military and competitive advantage. In addition, cyber-enabled terrorism poses a viable threat to national security. Although the United States has not yet encountered terrorist organizations using the Internet to launch a full-scale cyber-attack, the Department believes that it is a question of when, not if, they will attempt to do so. The cyber threat demands ready and fluid means of sharing information and coordinating actions and responses. In order to successfully investigate and disrupt cyber threats, the Department must be creative and forward-looking in its approach, considering what kinds of tools, investigations, and outreach can be launched now to lay the groundwork for future cyber protective efforts.
