Media is waiting where a sensitive DoD program will be tested. But this is not just an election-cycle threat. We take all potential threats to public and private sector systems seriously and will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace. Nicholas Eftimiades is a lecturer at Penn State University, Homeland Security Program. The FBI is working closely with partners in the Intelligence Community and in the federal government, as well as with state and local partners, to establish a common operating picture. Cyber threat actors have also increasingly conducted ransomware attacks against U.S. systems, encrypting data and rendering systems unusablethereby victimizing individuals, businesses, and even emergency service and public health providers. As the committee is well aware, the frequency and severity of malicious cyber activity on our nations private sector and government networks have increased dramatically in the past decade when measured by the amount of corporate data stolen or deleted, the volume of personally identifiable information compromised, or the remediation costs incurred by U.S. victims. Most of Chinas espionage activities are not traditional espionage, yet they are having a profoundimpact on Americas economic wellbeing, national security, and potentially our political and governance processes. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), an Executive Branch committee chaired by the Department of Treasury, was statutorily created to address potential risks to U.S. national security resulting from foreign acquisitions or mergers with U.S. companies. This button displays the currently selected search type. Espionage (spying) can involve the disclosure or theft of many types of information. It is seen by many who enter messaging apps and participate in social networks. This was often the case in illegal export of military technology, source code, large-scale agricultural and industrial production and manufacturing techniques. But China does not only steal corporate crown jewels like trade secrets: It targets a wide variety of information that can provide Chinese companies with commercial advantage. Task force personnel work closely with other U.S. government agencies and international partners concerned about foreign influence efforts aimed at their countries, using three key pillars. Economic espionage activities . Botnets used by cyber criminals have been responsible for billions of dollars in damages over the past several years. Unsurprisingly, China is also targeting sectors critical to U.S. military dominance, like aerospace, according to a recent indictment. Foreign influence operationswhich may include covert actions by foreign governments to influence U.S. policy decisions, political sentiment or public discourseare not a new problem. Based on an actual case, The Company Man: Protecting Americas Secrets illustrates how one U.S. company was targeted by foreign spies and how that company worked with the FBI to bring the perpetrators to justice. First, I firmly believe that the U.S. is more likely to be able to effectively combat Chinese unconventional espionage if the U.S. holds out the prospect for cooperation in the U.S.-Chinese overall relationship. Fortunately, efforts here in Congress, including by Chairman Grassley and other members of this Committee, have drawn public attention to this issue, and Assistant Attorney General Demers and the Department of Justice have significantly expanded FARA enforcement. And local Soviet spies, just like many other denizens of the Bay . Espionage, as that term is traditionally used, involves trained intelligence professionals In the developing phase the foreign intelligence officer attempts to establish a close relationship with the target. No tradecraft, with parties using open communications and true names; Use of false names and/or third parties to transmit information and ship materials; Public and commercial encryption, hosting meetings in China to avoid detection; Tailor made devices or techniques, use of third countries, use of in-country cutouts to transmit information. ISIS uses traditional media platforms as well as widespread social media campaigns to propagate its ideology. Copyright 2023 ALM Global, LLC. Lastly, Chinas espionage activities continue unabated despite a large number of arrests, public exposure, and most recently, U.S. trade sanctions. Once established, the foreign intelligence officer makes an offer to help the target with his problems. Traditional espionage encompasses a government's efforts to acquire clandestinely classified or otherwise protected information from a foreign government. Emily Kilcrease & Michael Frazer. As Australias military ties with the U.S. deepen, the Top End becomes even more vital to Australian security. Individual victims of Chinese IP theft have begun to resort to legal measures to fight back against companies that steal their trade secrets. Failure to report may result in Judicial and/or Administrative Action Espionage and counterespionage have been essential tools of statecraft for centuries, of course, and U.S. and Chinese intelligence agencies have been battling one another for decades. In late October, the U.S. Commerce Department put a Chinese semiconductor firm, Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Company, on its entity list, which prohibits U.S. companies from selling Fujian Jinhua technology and products. Enjoying this article? DoD personnel who suspect a coworker of possible espionage should, Report directly to your CI or Security Office, Cyber vulnerabilities to DoD Systems may include, Disgruntled or Co-opted employee The reason for this is because Snowden did not provide information he obtained to a foreign government. 951 to pursue conduct outside the context of traditional espionage. Over the course of the last seven years, foreign investment in the U.S. has more than doubled. The division has a wide range of responsibilities. But China is investing billions of dollars in its own technological prowess and can draw on the expertise of millions of Chinese engineers and scientists who have studied at top universities globally. ), Next Generation National Security Fellows, The Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Leaders Fellowship, Joseph S. Nye, Jr. National Security Internship and Mentoring Program, 2022 CNAS National Security Conference: Security in the Balance, Sanctions by the Numbers: SDN, CMIC, and Entity List Designations on China, Since Russia Invaded Ukraine, Allies Levied More Than 11,000 Sanctions on Russia, Calling Check: Technology Competition with China. APT41 has been active since as early as 2012. Access to additional free ALM publications, 1 free article* across the ALM subscription network every 30 days, Exclusive discounts on ALM events and publications. Death, Theft of Trade Secrets for a Foreign Govenment, Penalty for individual Congress has also played an important role. These include increased scrutiny of Chinese investments in key sectors, stricter. The foreign intelligence threat to the United States is expanding, becoming more complex and less predictable. 3488, enacted October 11, 1996 deals with industrial espionage (e.g., the theft or misappropriation of a trade secret and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act) and four other areas of action that Congress deemed appropriate and the United States Sentencing Commission reports regarding encryption or . The world of espionage is facing tremendous technological, political, legal, social, and commercial changes. 1101 riveredge rd, connellsville, pa 15425; traditional espionage activity includes foreign government. Contact with international terrorist Peter Harrell. Our adversariesterrorists, foreign intelligence services, and criminalstake advantage of modern technology to hide their communications; recruit followers; and plan, conduct, and encourage espionage, cyber attacks, or terrorism to disperse information on different methods to attack the U.S. homeland and to facilitate other illegal activities. Contact Us| The Trump administration should also expand these efforts by deploying the sanctions authorities under E.O.s 13757 and 13694, which authorize Treasury to sanction people, companies, and entities that engage in a cyber-enabled espionage and other cyberattacks. Spies might seem like a throwback to earlier days of world wars and cold wars, but they are more common than everand they are targeting our nations most valuable secrets. Through the Internet, terrorists anywhere overseas now have direct access to our local communities to target and recruit our citizens and spread their message faster than was imagined just a few years ago. Second, I will assess the policy responses that the U.S. has pursued to date to respond to this threat. As members of the Senate know, over the summer, Congress enacted the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), which overhauled the CFIUS review process for foreign investments in the United States. We're looking at $200 billion to. In October, the U.S. passed sweeping new export controls on China. Penalty for an organization The attack was attributed to Russian hackers and caused an estimated $10 billion in damages. An adversary uses technical countermeasures to block a previously undisclosed or classified U.S. intercept technology. Economic espionage, which is mainly conducted by private companies or individuals, makes up 23.5 percent of cases. The Obama administration issued two Executive Orders, E.O. The U.S. government has steadily increased its response to the threat of China's unconventional espionage. Information gathered and activities conducted to identify, deceive, exploit, disrupt, or protect against espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage, or assassinations conducted for or on behalf of foreign powers, organizations or persons or their agents or international terrorist organizations. Disgruntled The bottom line is that if there is information out there that China thinks is of value, the odds are that China has or will try to steal it. These information objectives are also tied to national defense and economic priorities. State-owned enterprises are also engaged in espionage. But the interconnectedness of the modern world, combined with the anonymity of the Internet, have changed the nature of the threat and how the FBI and its partners must address it. 10. These diverse threats underscore the complexity and breadth of the FBIs mission: to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. In many respects, the goals of this kind of espionage are similar to economic espionageto capture technological advances that could prove valuable to Chinese firms and potentially to the Chinese military. An adversary is able to anticipate DoD plans and activities. Chinese military sources can tell us exactly what the PLA is learning. Nations have been spying on the United States (and us on them) since the American Revolution. Counterintelligence Awarness Briefing - United States Naval Academy Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided. Preventing terrorist attacks remains the FBIs top priority. One might expect poor tradecraft from nonprofessional intelligence entities such as individuals, companies, and SOEs. A 2014 estimate by the Center for Responsible Trade and Enterprise (CREATe) and PriceWaterhouseCoopers argued that the cost of trade secret theft could amount to between 1 percent and 3 percent of GDP annually. Hostile actors conducting cyber espionage can target the government, military, business and individuals. Foreign Intelligence Threats - Traditional Activity Traditional activity Forgoing intelligence entities operating out of: Embassies Consulates Universities Trade missions Insider Spies (Insider Threat) Foreign Intelligence Threats Non-Traditional Activity Foreign government-sponsored commercial enterprises International trafficking organizations As part of this process, the FBI provides input and analysis to the National Intelligence Council within eight days of a CFIUS filing and a risk assessment to the Department of Justice within 30 days of a CFIUS filing. When it comes to economic espionage, it is important to keep in mind that espionage is but one element in a broader Chinese strategy to modernize its economy and to promote China as the world leader in a range of technologies that will be critical to both economic and military power in the years ahead. In addition to its investigative work, the FBI works to raise public awareness and inform industry of the threats they face, through outreach activities. That said, I recommend that Congress carefully consider hacking back proposals that would enable U.S. companies to take a broader range of active measures to defend themselves against cyber espionage and other cyber attacks. If you feel you are being solicited for information, which of the following should you do? As former Cisco CEO John Chambers once said, There are two types of companies: those who have been hacked, and those who don't yet know they have been hacked.. The group has been observed targeting healthcare, telecom, technology, and video game industries in 14 countries. The wide variance in sophistication of espionage tradecraft implies the idea of Islands of Excellence (see Figure 6) meaning China employs espionage tradecraft with varying degrees of sophistication and effectiveness. This has taken several forms. Additionally, the DSN shall instruct NOAA staff and employees to report suspicious activities involving the foreign national to the DSN who, in turn, shall report them to the servicing security office immediately. Dynamically explore and compare data on law firms, companies, individual lawyers, and industry trends. Center for a New American Security (en-US), Constructing Regional Partnerships and Seizing Emerging Opportunities, General Mike Holmes, U.S. Air Force (Ret. Third, the Trump administration should use Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) authorities to prevent China from acquiring technologies that it is also trying to steal. When divided into the aforementioned categories (Espionage, Economic Espionage, ITAR, EAR, Covert Action) the 274 espionage cases show the percentages of operations as follows (Figure 1.). Espionage activities involving the Peoples Liberation Army reflect primarily illegal arms or military technology transfers where the PLA was known, or believed to be the end user for example, the PLA was assumed the ultimate end user or customer if a TOW anti-tank system (tube-launched, optically tracked, wireless-guided weapon system) was being illegally shipped to China. The MSS was formed in June 1983 by combining the espionage, counterintelligence, and security functions of the Ministry of Public Security and the Investigations Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee. The text in bold (see Figure 4) reflects multiple, concerted attempts by China to secure specific U.S. critical technologies. The resources and capabilities of such actors vary. Share on Facebook Facebook Despite their territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria, ISIS remains relentless and ruthless in its campaign of violence against the West and has aggressively promoted its hateful message, attracting like-minded violent extremists. First, I will offer an assessment of aspects of the threat. U.S. companies continue to need to make major investments in hardening their defenses against cyber threats and to train employees to be vigilant against Chinese espionage. Keeping pace with these threats is a significant challenge for the FBI. We must build toward the future so that we are prepared to deal with the threats we will face at home and abroad and understand how those threats may be connected. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in an interview that there are probably a dozen or 15 countries that steal our technology. In 2015 a South Korean company plead guilty to conspiring to steal proprietary DuPont information about Kevlar, the body armor material, and paid more than $300 million in fines and restitution. However, cases attributed to the Ministry of State Security show an astounding nine cases where case officers and recruited agents demonstrated no discernible tradecraft. Prepare in advance For guidance on "suspicious activities," refer to the Espionage Indicators Guide (see Appendix A to this Order). In addition to FTOs, domestic violent extremists collectively pose a steady threat of violence and economic harm to the United States. The U.S. government has also worked to sharply limit the deployment of Chinese technology and equipment here in the U.S. that China could potentially use to facilitate its unconventional espionage in the years ahead. It is time for Pakistans political and military establishment to wake up and reconcile with the fact that they cant negotiate their way to peace. Figure 2: Chinese Organizational Clusters Committing Espionage. The South Korean and U.S. militaries are preparing to conduct two exercises: Freedom Shield, a computer-simulated training, and Warrior Shield FTX, large-scale joint field training. The FBI indictment alleges Ji was tasked by his spymaster a senior MSS officer in the Jiangsu Province MSS office. The Many Benefits of Reviewing and Updating Bylaws, Not So Fast: The Rights of Victims in Corporate Deferred Prosecutions, Defense Witness Immunity: Time for Supreme Court To Weigh In, Law.com Editors and Analysts Offer Top Trends to Watch for 2023. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today and I look forward to your questions. Just $5 a month. Failure to report may result in disciplinary action. We must seek out new technologies and solutions for the problems that exist today as well as those that are on the horizon. Impact on the U.S. Economy. Any individual or spy ring (a cooperating group of spies), in the service of a government, company, criminal organization, or independent operation, can commit espionage. Join New York Law Journal now! To combat the threat at home, the FBI established the Domestic Terrorism-Hate Crimes Fusion Cell in spring 2019. Asia, Southeast Women, Influence & Power in Law UK Awards honors women lawyers who have made a remarkable difference in the legal profession. The threats posed by foreign fighters, including those recruited from the U.S., are very dynamic. The FBI is the lead agency for exposing, preventing, and investigating intelligence activities in the U.S. Because much of today's spying is accomplished by data theft from computer networks,. The FBI is the lead agency for exposing, preventing, and investigating intelligence activities in the U.S. Because much of todays spying is accomplished by data theft from computer networks, espionage is quickly becoming cyber-based. Sri Lankas default highlights the dangers of relying on international sovereign bonds with high interest rates to fund development. Examples of PEI include, Unexplained affluence, concealing foreign travel, unusual work hours, avoiding polygraph The act of securing information of a military or political nature that a competing nation holds secret. Based on an actual case, the video illustrates how one company was targeted by foreign actors and what the FBI did to help. The scope of the criminal activity, including evidence of involvement by a foreign government, foreign agent, or foreign instrumentality The degree of economic injury to the trade secret owner The . Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Trends may shift, but the underlying drivers for domestic violent extremismsuch as perceptions of government or law enforcement overreach, socio-political conditions, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and reactions to legislative actionsremain constant. The IC remains focused on the missions of cyber intelligence . Finally, the investments we make at home to maintain Americas technological edge are ultimately going to be more important than the steps we take to stop Chinas theft of American IP. Recognizing innovation in the legal technology sector for working on precedent-setting, game-changing projects and initiatives. The governing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses government, quasi-government, academic, and commercial entities as mechanisms to conduct all forms f espionage abroad. II. Simultaneously, over the last year, propaganda from al Qaeda leaders seeks to inspire individuals to conduct their own attacks in the U.S. and the West. The FITF is also working with international partners to exchange intelligence and strategies for combating what is a shared threat. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. The industry-leading media platform offering competitive intelligence to prepare for today and anticipate opportunities for future success. CCP embedded committees manage all actions within directly managed SOEs. Share on Twitter Twitter Due to online recruitment, indoctrination, and instruction, FTOs are no longer dependent on finding ways to get terrorist operatives into the United States to recruit and carry out acts of terrorism. While the U.S. government and defense contractors must continue to harden their defenses against Chinese espionage and the U.S. government must work aggressively to root out, expel, and prosecute Chinese spies, the framework for addressing this kind of espionage is well developed. The recent attacks in Texas and California underscore the continued threat posed by domestic violent extremists and perpetrators of hate crimes. For example, China and Chinese companies have repeatedly paid off corporate insiders at U.S. and western companies to simply walk out the door with high-value trade secrets. frequent questionable foreign travel Gain access to some of the most knowledgeable and experienced attorneys with our 2 bundle options!