Shawn Henry, who heads the FBI’s D.C. field office, wants to be more transparent, particularly when it comes to briefing the private sector on such matters as cyberterrorism and other threats, according to an interview with the Associated Press.
“I want to walk up to the line,” Henry, 48, told AP. “I want to give you as much as I can so that you understand what it is that we do.”
Henry told AP that the FBI has gone from a “need-to-know” to a “need-to-share” agency in the past five years.
As previous head of the FBI’s cyber division, he told AP he shared information with banks and financial services on how organized crime groups stole millions of dollars. As a result, financial institutions were able to prevent attacks.
In the past, he admitted such information might not be shared out of concern it might damage a case.
“And what I’ve said is we have an obligation and a responsibility to share the information so people can protect themselves,” Henry told AP.
