ABSTRACT
We begin by reviewing the provocative topic of preventive self-defense, initially raised at the outset of the present century with respect to conventional and hybrid warfare. We then inquire whether “big data” analysis and surveillance in the “grey zone” between low-intensity conflict (e.g., espionage) and warfare (as disclosed in 2013 by NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden) might now properly be seen as this sort of quasi-justifiable activity rather than merely as an effort at wholly unjustified domestic espionage and political oppression by powerful governments. The keys lie in the intent and responsibility to protect rather than surveil on the part of agencies like the U.S. National Security Agency while the ultimate moral justification of such a policy depends further upon obtaining the informed consent of those protected through a greater degree of program transparency, accountability, and adversarial review and oversight than has heretofore been customary among intelligence agencies.
