Annual Assessment Outlines the Greatest Security Threats Facing the U.S.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Feb 10, 2016

Attacks by “homegrown” Islamist extremists are among the most imminent security threats facing the United States in 2016, along with dangers posed overseas by the Islamic State and cybersecurity concerns.

Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, listed the top threats against the United States in his annual assessment of national security. Clapper warned that fast-moving cyber and technological advances “could lead to widespread vulnerabilities in infrastructure and U.S. government systems.”

Clapper outlined an array of threats, noting that the biggest danger was the Islamic State. The militant group is important to keep an eye on because of the territory it controls in Iraq and Syria and because it is determined to launch attacks on U.S. soil.

While the United States “will almost certainly remain at least a rhetorically important enemy” for many foreign militant groups, “homegrown violent extremists” will probably continue to pose the most significant threat in 2016, Clapper said.

Other threats mentioned stemmed from recent events such as North Korea’s launch of a satellite into orbit and militant groups sneaking in troops among the Syrian refugees.