Statement for the Record Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community. Senate Armed Services Committee, James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence. February 9, 2016.

Global threats include: Cyber and Technology; Terrorism; Weapons of Mass Destruction and Proliferation; Space and Counterspace; Counterintelligence; Transnational Organized Crime; Economics and Natural Resources; Human Security.

“..The consequences of innovation and increased reliance on information technology in the next few years on both our society’s way of life in general and how we in the Intelligence Community specifically perform our mission will probably be far greater in scope and impact than ever. Devices, designed and fielded with minimal security requirements and testing, and an ever-increasing complexity of networks could lead to widespread vulnerabilities in civilian infrastructures and US Government systems. These developments will pose challenges to our cyber defenses and operational tradecraft but also create new opportunities for our own intelligence collectors…In the future, intelligence services might use the IoT [Internet of Things] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials.”