The Central Intelligence Agency is getting ready for a wholesale reorganization to adapt to the changing world and emerging threats, particularly in the realm of cyber crime and terrorism.

Along with the reorganization of several offices, a new Directorate of Digital Innovation will be created to lead the CIA's cyber mission, giving the agency a central authority for training and developing "the standards of our digital tradecraft," according to CIA Director John Brennan.

"Digital technology holds great promise for mission excellence, while posing serious threats to the security of our operations and information," he said in a March 6 memo to CIA staff. "We must place our activities and operations in the digital domain at the very center of all our mission endeavors."

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The agency will also be employing a governance structure modeled after the private sector, giving more power to the executive director to make strategic decisions.

Brennan said the reorganization is driven by two factors.

"The first is the marked increase in the range, diversity, complexity and immediacy of issues confronting policymakers," he said. "The second is the unprecedented pace and impact of technological advancements."

In September, Brennan commissioned a study group of officers from around the CIA to examine how the agency collects and disseminates information and how it needs to modernize to meet new threats.

The study group focused on people, process and structure and came up with a reorganization plan divided into four themes:

  • Invest in people by enhancing talent and leadership development — includes a new Talent Development Center for Excellence and a push to make "multi-disciplinary exposure and experience the 'new normal'";
  • Embrace and leverage the digital revolution with the creation of the Directorate of Digital Innovation;
  • Modernize the way the CIA does business, namely by introducing a corporate structure, including more authority for the executive director and executive secretary office; and
  • Better integrate capabilities across mission areas with the creation of inter-directorate Mission Centers to share information and ensure intra-agency cooperation.

"When previously faced with such shifts, this agency proved it can adapt and transform in significant ways, such as our response to the emergence of global terrorism," Brennan said. "The time has come for us to do so again."

Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.

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