CIA to boost cyber capability

The CIA is planning a radical overhaul, ramping up its capability to deal with cyber threats while boosting integration between departments.

Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan outlined the proposed changes to the agency in a message to staff on Friday described as a "Blueprint for the Future" covering four key areas.

Brennan said the US espionage agency would set up a new "Directorate of Digital Innovation" to reflect the rapidly evolving cyber landscape.

"We must place our activities and operations in the digital domain at the very centre of all our mission endeavours," Brennan wrote.

"To that end, we will establish a senior position to oversee the acceleration of digital and cyber integration across all of our mission areas."

The changes reflect the increasing emphasis on cybersecurity by the United States after a series of high-profile digital breaches in recent years, such as the Sony Pictures hack blamed on North Korea.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper last month told lawmakers that foreign cyberattacks represented a bigger threat to national security than terrorism.

US media reports said Brennan's sweeping changes would affect thousands of employees at the agency.

A centrepiece of the overhaul would be the establishment of 10 new "Mission Centres" aimed at enhancing integration between departments.

"Never has the need for the full and unfettered integration of our capabilities been greater," Brennan said in his message. "We must take some bold steps toward more integrated, coherent and accountable mission execution."

Analysts said the introduction of Mission Centres was intended to eliminate divisions between traditional departments covering the Middle East, Africa and other regions.

Several media reports said the new units would be modelled on the CIA's Counterterrorism Centre, which grew exponentially in the years after the September 11, 2001 attacks on US soil.