The ongoing digitalization of surveillance processes, coupled with increased cybersecurity threats, has led the CIA to launch a digital directorate focused on improved monitoring and protecting electronic information.

In a letter that was made publicly available on the CIA’s website, CIA Director John Brennan said the Directorate of Digital Innovation would span activities such as listening in on social media channels, cyber espionage and more traditional security functions such as protecting email servers.

Experts told SC Magazine that while the CIA obviously needs to keep pace with modern forms of communication, the digital directorate could raise more questions about other public sector organizations such as the National Security Agency (NSA), which has been criticized for spying on citizens. As its reorganization takes shape, the CIA may need to explain which types of checks and balances will be put in place to prevent overreaches.

On the other hand, the Washington Post said the digital directorate will create better cohesion throughout the CIA, particularly branches that have focused on potential cyberattacks from foreign entities and those that provide various forms of data analysis. The overhaul will also provide a means of training and developing talent to help CIA agents avoid being tracked by their digital activities.

This is only the latest move by a U.S. government organization to take steps toward better IT security. Just last month, the White House announced a broad cybersecurity strategy as part of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, which looked at measures by which private businesses could better share information about data breaches and cyberattacks. With that backdrop, it’s unsurprising that the CIA is also placing greater emphasis on studying the way information is digitally collected and stored.

In a story from Reuters, former CIA officials said too much of the expertise on digital subjects has been siloed across the agency, which reportedly hasn’t pursued a reorganization of this magnitude in more than 20 years. Given external threats such as ISIS and internal threats such as Edward Snowden — who was a contractor for the CIA and NSA — the digital directorate feels nearly inevitable.