The Department plays a critical role in safeguarding U.S. interests and citizens when it collects intelligence and investigates and prosecutes those seeking to undermine our national security. Events of the past year, including attacks in New Orleans and Boulder, which are being investigated as acts of terrorism, have again demonstrated the essential need for the Department to be vigilant in its efforts to deter and counter terrorism and violent extremism. The threat of targeted violence from U.S.-based extremists remains high, while foreign terrorist organizations continue to pose a risk to the homeland and to U.S. interests abroad.
To protect national security, the Department uses sensitive investigative authorities that implicate constitutional rights and civil liberties. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) use of certain authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) receives close scrutiny by the Department and policymakers to ensure that constitutional rights and privacy interests of Americans are not sacrificed in furtherance of foreign intelligence gathering. In April 2024, Congress passed the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), which both reauthorized certain FISA authorities for two years and tasked the OIG with reviewing the FBI’s practices under FISA Section 702. In compliance with RISAA, the OIG submitted a report to Congress. The OIG found that the FBI implemented all reforms mandated by RISAA and that the FBI’s compliance with the court-approved querying procedures has improved. However, rigorous internal and external oversight of the FBI’s querying practices under Section 702 remain necessary. Next year, the Department and the FBI will face the challenge of securing renewal of this sensitive investigative authority.
The FBI has identified Transnational organized crime, driven by illicit drug trafficking and other violent crimes, as a “significant and growing threat to national and international security with dire implications for public safety, public health, democratic institutions, and economic stability across the globe.”
In a February 2025 Attorney General Memorandum, the Department announced directives and initiatives to pursue the total elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations to curb the flow of deadly drugs into the country and eliminate the threats that these groups pose. Achieving this policy will require significant law enforcement and intelligence resources and enhanced collaboration with international, federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.
Cybersecurity presents another National Security issue for the Department. Specifically, the Department needs to respond effectively to threats to national security posed in this ever-evolving area. Inadequate data security, cyber intrusions by foreign actors, ransomware, and ubiquitous technical surveillance of law enforcement activities, among other issues, present potential threats to national security and to Department operations.
Emerging Technology
Audit of the DEA’s and FBI’s Efforts to Integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Other Emerging Technology within the U.S. Intelligence Community (as required by the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act)
The OIG released a report on the DEA’s and FBI’s compliance with AI and other emerging technology requirements contained in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2023. These requirements apply to U.S. Intelligence Community elements, including the entire FBI and the DEA’s Office of National Security Intelligence. The OIG found both agencies are in the early stages of AI integration, with some progress made. The FBI published an AI policy, established an AI Ethics Council, and is conducting inventories of AI use. The DEA’s Office of National Security Intelligence is leveraging a partner agency’s AI tool. Barriers to these agencies’ accelerated adoption of AI include funding constraints, difficulties hiring and retaining a technical workforce, and the need to modernize data architecture. Both agencies are still required to submit reports to Congress on their AI efforts.