The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) of the United States has unveiled its latest anti-spy strategy, identifying China and Russia as the biggest intelligence threats to the country. The strategy highlights that these countries are increasingly cooperating and engaging in more aggressive actions in the “gray zone.”
On Thursday, August 1st, President Biden signed and released the new National Counterintelligence Strategy by NCSC. The strategy emphasizes that the breadth, quantity, complexity, and impact of foreign intelligence threats are “unprecedented.”
According to the strategy, there is a growing number of actors attempting to steal national secrets, sensitive data, intellectual property, technology, and military capabilities, while also disrupting and destabilizing U.S. diplomatic and intelligence operations.
The document points out that adversaries led by China and Russia are preparing to sabotage or damage critical infrastructure essential to the health, safety, and economic activities of Americans, as well as attempting to influence U.S. policies and public opinion, undermining the democratic system.
NCSC categorizes China and Russia as the “most significant intelligence threats,” with concerns also raised about threats posed by Iran and North Korea.
The strategy warns that these countries view themselves as engaged in intense, multifaceted competition with the U.S., leading their intelligence agencies to frequently engage in more aggressive actions in the gray zone, between war and peace.
The strategy further cautions that American counterintelligence officials are witnessing increased collaboration among major adversaries, intensifying the threats they pose, with many intelligence activities by China, Russia, and Iran still undetected.
Commercial entities are playing an increasingly significant role, with adversaries at times turning to private companies to mask their espionage activities, the strategy notes.
It highlights that many foreign entities have become tools for intelligence operations against the U.S., utilizing networks to conduct various activities such as gathering sensitive information, network sabotage, foreign malign influence, and monitoring dissidents.
They employ technological tools, often readily available in the market, to disrupt computer networks, mobile devices, and connected devices, according to the NCSC.
Furthermore, adversaries are not only seeking classified information but also aiming to acquire vast amounts of non-classified data to support their political, economic, R&D, military, and influencing goals, directed at American personnel, supply chains, and critical infrastructure.
Earlier this week, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) warned that Russia has begun using Russian marketing and PR firms to influence U.S. public opinion and interfere in the upcoming presidential election. This outsourcing of influence activities is seen as a way to conceal their activities.
In the strategic release on Thursday, NCSC specifically highlighted the economic security risks posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the U.S., underscoring how industrial espionage poses a significant challenge to American prosperity, security, and competitive advantage. The report emphasizes that the leakage of critical secrets could rapidly advance the capabilities of U.S. adversaries, posing a threat to national security.
“In this domain, China is the most concerning country as it targets key technology sectors and proprietary commercial and military technologies of U.S. and allied companies and research institutions. We must address the efforts of adversaries to collect or acquire sensitive information and technology in a comprehensive societal manner,” the report states.
Following the conflicts in Ukraine and Ethiopia, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea have increasingly formed tighter cooperation, with U.S. and Western officials recently accusing them of forming a new “axis of evil” to supply weapons and ammunition to Moscow.
The new U.S. anti-spy strategy aims to provide a roadmap for intelligence agencies to combat threats, including investing in new technologies to help them detect conspiracies faster, anticipate threats, and share information more widely with other government agencies and allies.
The strategy also calls for increased use of artificial intelligence to defend against espionage activities, as well as launching offensive activities aimed at disrupting foreign plots.
In the preface of the strategy, President Biden stated: “Foreign intelligence and security services and their proxies have been trying to obtain our most sensitive information, technology, and intellectual property. Non-state actors are also mimicking this behavior.”
Biden noted that the National Counterintelligence Strategy provides strategic direction and vision for the U.S. federal government and its counterintelligence agencies, ensuring the ability to address foreign intelligence threats.