The U.S. military’s chief information officer (CIO) and former CIA deputy director John Sherman said his office will assume control of all 5G-related activities in the U.S. military and expand the military’s 5G pilot programs — a move critics said could lead to increased surveillance of U.S. citizens.

The move will shift the Pentagon’s 5G efforts from the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Heidi Shyu, to Sherman’s office.

The transition will officially take effect on Oct. 1, but Sherman said his office has “already been working left seat, right seat with research and engineering on this, [in] a very close partnership with Honorable Heidi Shyu and her team.”