Tradecraft is another pillar of the FBI’s intelligence program strategy. It focuses on the recruitment and operation of sources and resilience in the face of emerging threats like ubiquitous technical surveillance, a term the FBI uses to describe how adversaries can threaten Bureau personnel, sources, and operations through the widespread collection and analysis of digital activities.

Tradecraft also includes the authorship and distribution of critical analysis. The new strategy emphasizes the FBI’s responsibility to deliver impactful analysis to intelligence partners, strengthening connections and collaboration. Quoting a former CIA analyst, Wray said, “It’s tradecraft and proper coordination that turn one individual’s analysis into an IC product we can all stand behind.”

The third lever of the strategy—training—focuses on fostering a multidisciplinary approach to the FBI’s work that highlights the integration of intelligence and operations. This training will give employees the skills they need to form multidisciplinary teams, utilizing the expertise of every job role to ensure the FBI is applying their full range of authorities and capabilities to all they do.

“We’ll train our new agents as collectors and consumers of intelligence, as well as investigators,” Wray said.

Wray spoke on the Bureau’s role in the IC, particularly the FBI’s unique combination of law enforcement and intelligence authorities—an asset, he said, that can bridge many of the gaps our enemies want to exploit. To do so, collaboration is key.

“Defending against evolving threats requires all of us,” Wray said, citing cybercrime, terrorism, counterintelligence, and election security among the emerging threats. The FBI’s response is “fast, coordinated, and skillful as ever” thanks to increased coordination and collaboration with our partners, including those in local law enforcement and the private sector.

“It’s never been more important than it is right now,” Wray said.