The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held a hearing in Washington, D.C. to review how the Intelligence Community (IC) uses commercially available information (CAI). The session, titled “Examining the Intelligence Community’s use of Commercial Information,” featured testimony from Aaron Lukas, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence; Dr. Christopher Scolese, Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO); and Lieutenant General Michele Bredenkamp, Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
Witnesses addressed how the IC acquires and applies CAI across different intelligence disciplines to support national security efforts. They also discussed ongoing efforts to improve standards for purchasing CAI and avoid redundant acquisitions.
Chairman Crawford stated, “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.”
