Intel gathering

Pentagon Releases New Procedures for Intelligence Collection

Today, the Department of Defense released revised procedures—along with an accompanying fact sheet—governing the conduct of its intelligence activities. DoD Manual 5240.01, ensures that Defense Department policy complies with DoD Directive 5240.01 and Executive Order 12333, which authorize Defense components to collect, retain, and disseminate information concerning U.S. persons and conduct other activities “in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the United States”.

The manual’s provisions apply to all DOD components, the U.S. military and defense intelligence agencies—including the National Security Agency. These latest revisions were approved by the Attorney General and Secretary of Defense after consultation with the Director of National Intelligence.

Updates to 5240 are long-overdue. The manual was last issued in 1982, the same yearthat Time named the personal computer the “Machine of the Year,” and one year prior to the magazine’s newsroom transition from typewriters to word processors.