Wikileaks Dump Brings CIA Spying Powers Into The Spotlight

- Michael Kan

HAS THE CIA ever spied on you? That’s a key question swirling around the WikiLeaks document dump (go.pcworld.com/wlcia) that allegedly details the U.S. agency’s secret hacking tools. The documents themselves don’t reveal much about who the CIA might have snooped on. But the agency certainly has the power to spy on foreigners outside the U.S., said Paul Pillar, a former deputy counter terrorism chief with the CIA.

That’s its job after all: to collect foreign intelligence. But even so, the CIA is pretty selective with its targets.

The CIA’s spying powers

 Stopping terrorists and rival governments is the priority, Pillar said. And NSA-style (go.pcworld.com/nsaspy) mass surveillance doesn’t necessarily help in that mission; it can actually “overload” the investigations with unnecessary data, he said.

“They’ve [the CIA] got far too much to do, and they’re already inundated with too much information as is,” he said.

So if you aren’t involved in any plot against the U.S. or Western democracy, the CIA isn’t going to waste its time on you, Pillar added.

However, it’s important to note that U.S. citizens aren’t immune to the CIA’s spying powers. The agency can spy (go.pcworld. com/ciaag) on them when they’re outside the country, but only if it has the approval of the U.S. attorney general and a special court, when applicable.