CIA Director John Brennan has ordered an in-depth review of the intelligence agency 's organizational structure , asking the agency to `` take a close and honest look at ourselves . '' Citing an `` ever-growing number '' of complex national security challenges as cause for the evaluation , Brennan announced the internal review in a letter to Central Intelligence Agency staff . The CIA released unclassified portions of the letter on Thursday . The review will come as the CIA adapts to new threats from terror groups like ISIS and the al Qaeda linked Khorasan group have added to agency 's terror landscape . Related : U.S. strikes against Khorosan group in Syria . `` I have mentioned several times over the past year that I have become increasingly convinced that the time has come to take a fresh look at how we are organized as an Agency , '' Brennan wrote in the letter dated September 24 , 2014 . He added that the review will examine the CIA 's structure and `` ways of doing business . '' Officers leading the review are tasked with looking at ways to integrate the sprawling intelligence agency . The organization is currently split into four major divisions . The clandestine staff that collects intelligence information , for instance , is separate from the staff analyzing the data collected . `` The need for integration has never been greater , '' Brennan wrote . `` The complex national security issues we face today , and the extent to which those issues cross geographic and functional boundaries , challenge our ability to leverage the entire breadth of capabilities the CIA has to offer . '' A proposal to split the agency into subject matter divisions where analysts and clandestine officers work together , as reported by the Washington Post , is not yet formal , according to the CIA . `` Given that the review is still pending , the officers have not yet put forth their findings , conclusions or recommendations , '' said CIA spokesman Dean Boyd .
The CIA director launched an agency-wide review of structure and business practices . A senior U.S. official said the agency is looking at ways to streamline its operations in a way that would make it more efficient but also less vulnerable to attack. Currently the CIA is broken into four different divisions .