U.S. government to intensify fight against industrial espionage

Federal law enforcement officials yesterday unveiled a new initiative to counter what they said were increased efforts by China, Iran, and others to obtain sensitive U.S. technology for weapons systems and industrial development. A number of federal departments, including intelligence agencies, are working together on the new effort, which will use the aggressive tactics used to pre-empt terrorist attacks against would-be industrial spies. UPI’s Shaun Waterman quotes Assistant Attorney General Ken Wainstein to say that “The United States has become the world’s primary target for technology theft…. Foreign states are actively and aggressively seeking out our technology to advance their own military systems and technical capacity.” Wainstein heads the Justice Department’s National Security Division. He added: “We know that several countries have established full-fledged procurement networks that work through front companies, joint ventures, trade delegations and other mechanisms to methodically target our government, our private industries and our universities as sources for this material.” He said that China and Iran had been “particularly aggressive in this area.”

The centerpiece of the new initiative would be the establishment of joint counter-proliferation task forces at an unspecified number of U.S. attorney’s offices around the country. Waterman writes that the new counter-proliferation teams will mirror the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces around the country. The joint task forces will be based initially in districts with large concentrations of high-tech businesses and research facilities.

The Justice Department statement cited a report prepared by U.S. intelligence agencies for Congress about foreign economic espionage and industrial collection. It said the report found “private-sector businessmen, scientists, students, and academics from overseas are among the most active collectors of sensitive U.S. technology.” U.S. intelligence concluded most were merely opportunistic criminals. “Most did not initially come to the U.S. with that intent, nor were they directed to do so by foreign governments. Instead, after finding that they had access to technology in demand overseas, they engaged in illegal collection to satisfy a desire for profits, acclaim, or patriotism to their home nations.” Industry is typically suspicious that too much government control would hamper U.S. companies’ competitiveness. Darryl Jackson, who heads the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, insisted, though, that export enforcement is “one of the fronts in the war against global terrorism.” In the war against terrorism, “export enforcement is the equivalent of cutting an enemy’s supply line in a conventional war,” he said.