At Conference on Global Terrorism, FBI Director Discusses Evolving Terror Threat and Efforts to Address It

	FBI Director James Comey speaks at Fordham Law School in New York City on November 3, 2014.

On November 3, 2014, Director James Comey spoke at the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School in New York City, briefing participants on the current terror threat and on FBI efforts—working in conjunction with our federal, state, local, and international partners—to confront it. 

According to Comey, the terror threat—which continues to be the Bureau’s number one priority—has changed in two ways: 1) While the core al Qaeda group in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region has been reduced, offshoots of that group, like ISIL and Khorasan, have sprung up in ungoverned or poorly governed spaces in other places and offer training to people around the world, including in the U.S.; and 2) the explosion of terrorist propaganda on the Internet for the purpose of recruiting and motivating has made addressing the challenge of homegrown violent extremists more difficult.
Comey focused on the importance of intelligence—using it, collecting it, and especially sharing it to connect the dots—as one of the ways to stay ahead of terrorism. He noted that the Bureau has made a lot of progress since 9/11 in terms of its intelligence efforts, but that we continue to work to make information-sharing and collaboration stronger and more fluid. He also touched on the need for a national conversation on the Going Dark issue, in which a combination of outdated laws and rapid changes in technology is making it increasingly hard for law enforcement to access the evidence needed to prosecute crime and prevent terrorism, even with lawful authority.
Noting the irreplaceable role that state and local law enforcement agencies play in the FBI’s counterterrorism efforts—for example, their contributions to our Joint Terrorism Task Forces—Comey also said that the Bureau relies on its community partners and private citizens to stay ahead of the threat, particularly in the area of recognizing signs of radicalization.