The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence convened a hearing in Washington, D.C., to review how the Intelligence Community (IC) uses commercially available information. The session, titled “Examining the Intelligence Community's use of Commercial Information,” included testimony from Aaron Lukas, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence; Dr. Christopher Scolese, Director of the National Reconnaissance Office; and Lieutenant General Michele Bredenkamp, Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
The witnesses discussed methods by which the IC acquires and utilizes commercial data to support various intelligence operations relevant to U.S. national security. They also described ongoing efforts to update acquisition standards and avoid redundant purchases of commercial information.
Chairman Crawford commented on the proceedings: “I am grateful for the witnesses’ time and willingness to come before our Committee to work with us on paving the path forward on the IC’s acquisition of commercially available information. As OSINT matures into a primary intelligence, it is critical that the IC adheres to a more standardized governance when purchasing CAI. Again, I appreciate the witnesses’ commitment to working with our Committee to ensure the IC acts as good stewards of taxpayer dollars, reducing inefficiencies and waste with duplicative commercially available information purchases.”
