Threats · 50 days ago
CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said the CIA’s Cyber Mission Center helped produce the intelligence that enabled U.S. special operations forces to locate and apprehend Nicolás Maduro during Operation Absolute Resolve. He said the operation was possible because cyber operations built a “flawless intelligence picture,” but gave no technical details on the methods, systems, or sources involved.
In plain terms, the agency is describing a workflow where digital collection helps build a location picture good enough for field forces to move fast on a person on the ground. That means cyber intelligence is not just feeding analysis or theft cases; it can support real-world targeting and capture when fused with other sources.
For defenders in government and national-security environments, the lasting point is where the exposure sits: information taken from digital systems can be converted into operational location intelligence, so the downstream use of collection may matter as much as the compromise itself. The reporting does not say how often that model is used beyond this operation.
2 sources covering this story
CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates
CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis revealed at the Billington Cybersecurity Conference that elevated cyber intelligence enabled Special Operations forces to locate and apprehend Nicolás Maduro during Operation Absolute Resolve.
The Record from Recorded Future
CIA official touts agency’s Cyber Mission Center in capture of Venezuela’s Maduro
A "flawless" performance by the CIA's Cyber Mission Center contributed to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, agency Deputy Director Michael Ellis says.
Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-09-09