Nukes, malware and bots: US intelligence races to stay ahead of adversaries

By: J.J. Green, WTOP

Before the first rays of sunlight peek over the horizon in D.C., Deirdre Walsh is on her way to the sprawling, 40 -acre Liberty Crossing complex, in McLean, Virginia, that houses the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and several of the 16 intelligence agencies it oversees.

“I’m out the door. I try to get some exercise, as much as I can, to kind of get the cobwebs out, and I’m in the office between 7:00 and 8:00 (a.m.),” she said.

Clearing the cobwebs quickly is important.

As the chief operating officer at the ODNI, the collection of threats Walsh and the rest of the intelligence community faces in 2020 is comparable to a phalanx of hidden fire hoses that can erupt, seemingly out of nowhere, waving around and uncontrollably blasting critical intelligence at the IC. Each source requires immediate diagnosis and action.

Read the full article on WTOP.