We failed to connect the dots. And so, we had to come up with a way of helping to stop attacks." - General Keith B. Alexander, Former Director of NSA, at Black Hat USA 2013.
There's been lot of hyperbole and misinformation about the NSA's collection of Americans' phone calls, emails, address books, buddy lists, calling records, online video game chats, financial documents, browsing history, video chats, text messages, and calendar data. Currently, a debate rages involving privacy advocates, the Congressional House and Senate Committees on Judiciary and Intelligence, and the Intelligence Community about the NSA's activities. Join the debate by hearing former Staff Director of the House Intelligence Committee and current Managing Director of Beacon Global Strategies, Michael Allen, debate and discuss these issues with Mark Jaycox, a Legislative Analyst with the Electronic Frontier Foundation who specializes in user privacy and surveillance law. The conversation will include an overview of the NSA's activities, argue positions for and against the activities, and end with questions from the audience.
Mark is a Legislative Analyst for EFF. His issues include user privacy, civil liberties, surveillance law, and cyber security. Currently, Mark is working on legislative efforts to reform the National Security Agency and update surveillance law, like the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Apart from his legislative efforts, one of his upcoming research projects focuses on the use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for computer network operations. He was educated at Reed College and the University of Oxford (Wadham College), and has been featured both on and offline in publications like the Guardian, the New York Times, and ProPublica.
Michael Allen served as the Majority Staff Director of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) from 2011-2013. Under Chairman Mike Rogers' (R-MI) direction, the HPSCI restored the process of an annual intelligence authorization bill to fund and give direction to the seventeen elements of the intelligence community, enacting measures for fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013. The HPSCI also led the House of Representatives' consideration of cyber security legislation, passing the Cyber Information Sharing Protection Act (CISPA) with bipartisan majorities in 2012 and 2013. Prior to joining the HPSCI, he was director for the Bipartisan Policy Center's successor to the 9/11 Commission, the National Security Preparedness Group, co-chaired by former Congressman Lee Hamilton and former Governor Tom Kean. Mr. Allen currently serves as a Founder and Managing Director of Beacon Global Strategies, a strategic advisory firm specializing in International policy, defense, cyber, intelligence, and homeland security.