Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines today announced plans for an expansion of the public-private analytic engagement program (AEP), marking a significant upgrade in government and industry partnerships within the intelligence community.
During her keynote address at the 2024 AFCEA/INSA Intelligence & National Security Summit, Haines explained that this initiative is designed to enhance collaboration between government agencies and private sector experts, and aims to improve national security analysis and response.
“We are seeking to significantly improve the access that IT analysts have to expertise and knowledge in the private sector and in academia, to incorporate those insights into our work, while also supporting the expanded and living exchanges that allow both sides to combine our insights,” Haines said.
Established in 2012 by ODNI and the Department of Homeland Security, the AEP aims to enhance national security through collaboration between government and private sectors by promoting information sharing, joint risk analysis, and workshops to improve threat awareness and resilience.
AEP topic teams publish unclassified analytic deliverables that are disseminated across the government and private sector and are available to the public.
This year here are seven new topic teams, and four teams from previous years that will continue their research.
The new teams will explore areas such as the impacts of 5G wireless technology on smart cars and highway infrastructure, assessing risks in multinational investments, the effects of artificial intelligence on criminal activities and traditional human analysis, preventing violent extremism, the threat of limited U.S. access to critical raw materials, and U.S.-China power dynamics.
Returning teams will continue research on the cybersecurity implications of 5G technology, supply chain resilience in the face of extreme weather events, U.S. maritime trade and port cybersecurity, and combating illicit activities with financial technologies and cryptocurrencies.
“This [expansion] isn’t just about sharing information, but that is clearly part of it. We need to understand each other better, learn from each other, work together, more closely, grow together and sometimes even make decisions together,” Haines said.
According to Haines, the first phase of this expansion involves broadening the scope and scale of the current unclassified analytic exchange program while also exploring opportunities to incorporate classified information into the analytics.
“We have already been increasing analytic exchanges that include classified information through various design methods. I anticipate that many stakeholder – such as industry, the interagency community, and international partners – will support the defense industrial base in addressing cyber threats and challenges,” Haines said.
The 2024 AEP involves 60 government and 64 private sector participants. Government participants come from 17 organizations, including the FBI, U.S. Armed Forces, Department of Transportation, NSA, ODNI, state and local governments, and fusion centers. Private sector participants include Amazon, Secure Community Network, Meta, The Walt Disney Company, and Citi.
