The proposal of President Donald Trump’s administration to centralize information about the operations of American special services has generated skepticism at the CIA and FBI. Specialists warn that such a database could create security risks if not properly protected.
The Trump Administration wants the main intelligence agencies in the United States to transmit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) centralized data regarding certain operations and individuals under the services’ scrutiny.
Officially, the project’s aim is to facilitate the exchange of information between institutions, to avoid overlapping operations, and to improve the monitoring of external threats, writes adevarul.ro. Supporters of the initiative compare the proposed system to the databases used for monitoring terrorism suspects, arguing that it would allow for real-time information updates and more efficient coordination.
The leadership of the CIA and FBI, key agencies in the USA, have not yet provided all the requested information, citing concerns about how the database would be managed and protected.
In the case of the FBI, the targeted data could include individuals involved in counterintelligence investigations or ongoing criminal investigations. As for the CIA, the information could target individuals considered potential collaborators of the agency in external operations.
Former and current officials in the information field warn that the gathering of such extremely sensitive information into a single database could amplify the consequences of a potential security breach.
So far, the Trump administration has not made public details about how such a common database would be protected or who would have access to the information it would contain.