The Central Intelligence Agency called for more partnerships with the private sector, saying at a music and tech festival that the US needs to “supercharge” its ability to keep up with foreign adversaries against threats like social-media manipulation and ubiquitous surveillance.
(Bloomberg) — The Central Intelligence Agency called for more partnerships with the private sector, saying at a music and tech festival that the US needs to “supercharge” its ability to keep up with foreign adversaries against threats like social-media manipulation and ubiquitous surveillance.
“Supercharged spies are exactly what you want, and what you deserve,” David Cohen, deputy director of the CIA, said Monday at the outset of a South by Southwest conference panel in Austin, Texas. The tech-focused panel was an open call to those with expertise in areas like wireless technology, quantum computing, biotech, battery and semiconductor technology to consider collaborating with, or joining, the agency.
Using artificial intelligence to analyze an adversary’s skills and finding technological methods to help agents maintain cover in a world of pervasive surveillance were among the challenges the agency said it faces. “To defeat that ubiquitous technology, if you have any good ideas, we’d be happy to hear about them afterwards,” Cohen said.
Jennifer Ewbank, the CIA’s deputy director for digital innovation, described the agency as more exposed and vulnerable than ever, as countries like China have increased their surveillance capacity.
“We want to pick your brains — not literally,” said another panelist, Sheetal Patel, assistant director of the CIA for the Transnational and Technology Mission Center, to a roar of laughter from the crowd of around 500 attendees.
The panel was scheduled well ahead of the unfurling collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which has been a financial engine for US tech startups. Asked whether foreign manipulation of the US economy is a concern, Cohen said it is, though other agencies work on that issue.
“We are increasingly focused on the challenge to our economic stability from what our adversaries do,” Cohen said. “Part of the reason we’re focused on the development of technology and how our adversaries are using it, is that one of the great engines of the US economy is the tech sector.”
(Corrects attribution of quote in fifth paragraph.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.