House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Sunday said there is no credible evidence of an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plot targeting U.S. cities.
But, he cautioned on CNN’s “State of the Union,” “we just don’t know what we don’t know.”
{mosads}“They’ve gotten very good at hiding from intelligence services across the globe,” he added.
ISIS stirred fear in the U.S. last week by releasing several videos threatening imminent attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., including a warning that it would blow up the White House.
The threats came just days after the extremist group took credit for the terror attacks in Paris that killed about 130 people, wounding hundreds more.
Many have noted that some of the videos were not new, and just republished from earlier online videos that ISIS had put on the Internet.
Nunes confirmed that there is no indication of looming attacks similar to those described in the videos.
“There’s nothing specific except for the threat they’ve been putting out there on the Internet,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean ISIS isn’t scheming, Nunes said. Law enforcement officials have long warned that the terrorist group savvily uses encrypted communications platforms to hide their strategies from intelligence officials.
“That’s the real issue here,” Nunes said.
The Paris attacks have spurred a renewed debate about government access to digital data and encrypted communications.
Some lawmakers have even called for legislation that could require tech companies to give investigators guaranteed access to customer data.
The White House recently backed away from pushing for such legislation.