CIA Director John Brennan is planning a major expansion of the agency\u2019s cyber-espionage capabilities as part of a broad restructuring of an intelligence service long defined by its human spy work, current and former U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n
The proposed shift reflects a determination that the CIA\u2019s approach to conventional espionage is increasingly outmoded amid the exploding use of smartphones, social media and other technologies.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials said Brennan\u2019s plans call for increased use of cyber capabilities in almost every category of operations \u2013 whether identifying foreign officials to recruit as CIA informants, confirming the identities of targets of drone strikes or penetrating Internet-savvy adversaries such as\u00a0the Islamic State.<\/p>\n
Several officials said Brennan\u2019s team has even considered creating a new cyber-directorate \u2013 a step that would put the agency\u2019s technology experts on equal footing with the operations and analysis branches, which have been pillars of the CIA\u2019s organizational structure for decades.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials emphasized that the plans would not involve new legal authorities and that Brennan may stop short of creating a new directorate. But the suggestion underscores the scope of his ambitions, as well as their potential to raise privacy concerns or lead to turf skirmishes with the National Security Agency, the dominant player in electronic espionage.<\/p>\n