Why 702 is America’s most valuable intelligence program: Interview with the FBI

Why 702 is America’s most valuable intelligence program: Interview with the FBI

Author: Silverado Policy Accelerator September 7, 2023 Duration: 52:09
Dmitri Alperovitch sits down with Bryan Vorndran, Assistant Director of FBI’s Cyber Division, to discuss why FISA Section 702 is by far the most valuable intelligence program in the US government’s arsenal and is responsible for the majority of the most valuable intelligence the country collects. In this episode, Vorndran provides some examples of 702 successes including disrupting attempted assassination plots of American officials by a foreign country and identifying the perpetrator of the Colonial Pipeline hack and recovering the paid ransom. Vorndran also highlights compliance issues that the FBI has faced with the program and what it is doing to address them going forward.

Hosted by Dmitri Alperovitch and presented by the Silverado Policy Accelerator, Geopolitics Decanted offers a deep and nuanced examination of the forces shaping our world. This isn't about quick headlines; it's a podcast dedicated to patient, detailed analysis and substantive conversations with leading experts. Each episode distills complex international issues, moving beyond superficial narratives to explore the underlying strategies, technologies, and economic instruments at play. You'll hear focused discussions on ongoing conflicts like the war in Ukraine, the multifaceted competition between major powers, and the evolving tools of statecraft, from economic sanctions and export controls to cybersecurity threats and the global race for semiconductor supremacy. Geopolitics Decanted is for those who feel that understanding global affairs requires more than sound bites-it demands context, historical perspective, and a willingness to engage with the granular details that truly define geopolitical shifts. Through these in-depth interviews and Alperovitch's own commentary, the podcast provides listeners with a clearer, more comprehensive framework for making sense of an increasingly interconnected and contested global landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 79

Geopolitics Decanted with Dmitri Alperovitch
Podcast Episodes
Battle of Wills: Ukraine’s Path to Victory [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:36
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Yaroslav Trofimov, a Ukrainian-born Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign-affairs correspondent, about his new book "Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independ…
The Drone Wars: How Consumer Tech Is Shaping the Ukraine War [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:29
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), Rob Lee (Foreign Policy Research Institute) and Andrey Liscovich (UkraineDefenseFund.org) how the proliferation of FPV drones and…
All Things AI: An Interview With White House AI Guru Ben Buchanan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:22
Dmitri Alperovitch comes to the White House to interview Dr. Ben Buchanan, the White House Special Advisor on AI, about: - The risks and benefits of AI - What the US government is trying to achieve with the President’s E…
Why Chinese Economy Is Heading For Stagnation, Not Collapse [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:34
Dmitri Alperovitch and guest co-host Patrick Gray interview Alicia García-Herrero, a Spanish-born economist based in the indo-Pacific and who specializes on China. They discussed why China has exhausted its growth potent…
How Ukraine Can Benefit From ATACMS Missiles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:54
ATACMS episode: - What variants of the missile exist - What unique advantages they offer over already provided Storm Shadows / SCALP-EGs from UK and France - How many missiles may exist in the US inventory and why some c…
Starlink in Ukraine: Why the Story Is Not So Simple [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:04
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Patrick Gray, host of Risky Business podcast, about why the Starlink-Elon saga is much more complicated than it might seem at first glance. Blaming Elon for his Crimea action is probably unf…
What the Death of Prigozhin Means for Wagner, Russia and Ukraine [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:52
Dmitri Alperovitch talks to Russian military analyst Rob Lee and Wagner Group expert Jack Margolin about the implications of reports of Prigozhin’s fiery death in a plane crash in Russia. Where does Wagner go from here?…
Why Reports of the US Dollar’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:45
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with geoeconomist Douglas Rediker (Senior Fellow at Brookings and formerly with the IMF Executive Board) about the enduring dominance of the U.S. dollar and why it won’t change any time soon. Why…