“America’s Gatekeeper”: A Conversation with DCSA’s Director David Cattler

SpyCast

News, Education, History

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Born out of a major Chinese cyberattack that stole personal information from millions of federal government employees, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency calls itself ‘America’s Gatekeeper.’ Now five years into its existence, it’s responsible for overseeing most of the security clearances for government personnel and contractors. DCSA’s director David Cattler, formerly NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security, assesses the current threats. If you liked this episode, check out these links: DOGE Layoffs and the Counterintelligence Threats They Pose | SpyCast Dir. of National Intelligence Roundtable: 2025 Society for Intelligence History Panel Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Guest: Carol Rollie Flynn Prefer to watch your podcasts? Find us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@IntlSpyMuseum/podcasts. Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at [email protected]. This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:13.6	intelligence, and covert operations across the globe.
1:19.3	Born out of a major Chinese cyber attack, the defense counterintelligence and security agency
1:26.2	calls itself America's gatekeeper.
1:29.3	But despite its name, it's not actually an intelligence agency.
1:33.3	It's responsible for overseeing most of the security clearances of government personnel and contractors
1:40.3	and protecting against insider threats.
1:43.3	And it's housed inside the Department of Defense.
	...

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