Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said terrorism has become more sophisticated and destructive as extremist groups such as the Islamic State organization increasingly use social media for their propaganda, WTOP reported Monday.
“In my 50-plus years in intelligence, I don’t know if we’ve been beset by a more diverse array of challenges and crises around the world,” Clapper told radio station host J.J. Green during an interview in December.
“Terrorists have gone to school on how we try to track them, and that’s made our job harder,” he added.
U.S. intelligence officials think the speed, adaptability and skills of modern threats pose a significant challenge to their national security efforts, Green noted.
Clapper explained during the interview that his work entails reading news clips about terrorism, counterintelligence, weapons of mass destruction, transnational organized crime, natural resources, human security and cyber issues.
He told the station that he uses a protected tablet to provide daily intelligence briefs to the U.S. president.
