CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said Tuesday that the agency’s role in Operation Absolute Resolve is an example of how it has moved to put cyber operations at the center of intelligence collection and field missions, rather than treat them as a separate technical service.
Speaking at the Billington Cybersecurity Conference, Ellis said the agency’s cyber teams built the intelligence picture that supported the operation, which he said allowed U.S. special operations forces to locate and apprehend Nicolás Maduro.
“That operation was only made possible by a flawless intelligence picture, and that flawless intelligence picture was built on cyber operations enabled by our [Center of Cyber Intelligence] team,” Ellis said.
Ellis said the intelligence enabled U.S. forces “to identify the location of Nicolás Maduro and apprehend him within four minutes of landing on the ground.”
He provided no details about the methods, systems or sources involved. He also did not explain how cyber intelligence established Maduro’s location or how the agency confirmed the information before the mission.