The world is in a “new phase of the global terror threat” that is ever-changing and challenging to deal with, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says.
“[B]ecause of effective use of social media and the Internet, by [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] and al Qaeda … We have to be concerned about the independent actor, and the independent actor who is here in the homeland who may strike with little or no warning to law enforcement, to our intelligence community,” Johnson said Friday on MSNBC.
Thus, “it is all the more important … to share intelligence,” he added, speaking about agencies such as the FBI and CIA, as well as state and local law enforcement.
“Basic intelligence collection … is critical. But the way the threat is evolving, we also have to be concerned about independent actors in the homeland,” Johnson said when asked about data collection under the Patriot Act, which is facing harsh scrutiny from Capitol Hill as a provision allowing for it is set to expire June 1. A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the bulk data collection of phone records is illegal.
It’s about striking the “right balance” between security and privacy, Johnson said.
