FOCUS
ON COUNTERINTELLIGENCE
Part 1 of an Interview with FBI Assistant Director Dave Szady
07/20/04
Let's
start with the basics. What's counterintelligence?
It's much
broader than just espionage--the traditional spy game. It also includes
the protection of our critical national assets. And by that, I don't mean
the bridges, the railroad stations, the nuclear plants. I mean things like
our country's advanced technologies, its weapons systems, its military
capacities--classified information and systems that are strategically important
to our nation's well-being. Counterintelligence, or CI, also involves protecting
trade secrets and guarding against operations or disinformation campaigns
that would disadvantage the U.S.
What's
the FBI's role in counterintelligence?
We're the
lead agency for exposing, preventing, and investigating intelligence activities
on U.S. soil. We run our own investigations and coordinate investigations
of other agencies. Simply put, we're on point to protect the U.S. from
intelligence threats within our country. We've also got the lead on cases
overseas involving potential espionage.
Why is
counterintelligence the FBI's #2 priority?
Because the
threat is incredibly serious. It strikes at the heart of our national security--our
political, military, and economic strengths; our position in the world;
our future as a country. That's why only terrorism, with its threat of
direct attacks and bombings and mass casualties, ranks above it.
How has
the threat changed since the end of the Cold War?
In the Cold
War, the threat was what we call "symmetric." It was predictable, clear,
and geographically limited to the Soviet Union and the bloc countries.
Today, the threat is "asymmetric." It's coming at us from a lot of different
directions. It's no longer just our traditional adversaries who want to
steal our secrets, but sometimes even our allies. And how they go about
it has changed. Embassies and consulates are still used as a basis of operations
for intelligence services. But now foreign governments are also using students,
visiting delegations, scientists, and false front companies to get at our
secrets. And the threat is just as severe in places like Alabama, Kentucky,
Maine, and Iowa as it is in New York or Washington, because the classified
projects, the universities, and the corporations being targeted exist throughout
the U.S.
Why is
economic espionage now such a serious threat?
Economic
espionage attempts to disadvantage the U.S. unfairly without legitimate
competition. For example, the U.S. spends billions on research and development,
and someone comes in and steals that research and tries to sell it, in
some cases back to our own country. Billions of dollars can be lost, and
anytime you impact our country's economic viability in such a significant
way you impact its national security. There's also a lot of dual use technology
or export-controlled technology that can be used for weapons of mass destruction
or military systems. So it's vital that the FBI prevent countries from
stealing our trade secrets, our proprietary information, and our embargoed
technology because it undermines both our economic and national security.
