DNI Report: US Facing ‘Significant Intelligence Threats’ From China, Russia

People walk by a building (center) that is suspected of being used as a secret police station in Chinatown for the purpose of repressing dissidents living in the United States on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party stands in lower Manhattan on April 18, 2023. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The United States is confronting threats from foreign adversaries on many fronts amid growing geopolitical tensions, a new counterintelligence strategy warns.

“Our nation is facing significant and complex threats from aggressive and capable foreign intelligence adversaries—including Russia, the People’s Republic of China, Iran, and North Korea,” President Joe Biden said as he signed the National Counterintelligence Strategy on Aug. 1.

The newly approved strategy outlines intelligence goals to deal with growing foreign intelligence threats and provides direction to the counterintelligence community for the next three years.

According to the strategy, the foreign intelligence threats to the United States are unprecedented as these foreign adversaries target a wide range of entities using many different approaches.

The strategy says the Chinese communist regime and the state of Russia pose “the most significant intelligence threats.” These leading adversaries are working together more frequently, amplifying the threats to the United States.

“An expanding array of actors are attempting to steal national secrets, sensitive data, intellectual property, and technical and military capabilities, and undermine and disrupt U.S. foreign policy and intelligence operations,” it warns.

“[Foreign intelligence entities] are positioning themselves to compromise or damage infrastructure critical to U.S. health, safety, and economic activity, and are attempting to influence U.S. policy and public opinion and undermine our democracy.”

The document noted that foreign intelligence adversaries attempt to obtain information from almost all levels of U.S. government entities, including federal departments and agencies as well as local and state governments. They also target commercial firms, defense contractors, think tanks, and academic institutions.

These adversaries seek both classified and publicly available information to support their political, economic, military, and influence goals, as well as “their attempts to target U.S. persons, supply chains, and critical infrastructure,” the strategy states.

In addition, foreign intelligence actors view commercial entities as having an important role of helping with espionage efforts. Besides using cutting-edge technology, these actors employ high-quality cyber intrusion tools from commercial firms to assist with their cyber attacks.

A few days ago, the intelligence community warned that the Chinese communist regime has collaborated with Chinese tech firms to enhance its influence operations targeting the upcoming U.S. elections.

The strategy has raised great concerns over threats of foreign economic and industrial espionage to U.S. critical technology and economic security, particularly from the Chinese communist regime. It warned that foreign intelligence adversaries are looking to “use cyber espionage, embedded researchers, and front companies and investments to target innovative U.S. firms and research institutions, seeking a shortcut to build their own countries’ economic and technological bases, and make their firms more competitive against U.S. rivals.”

According to NCSC, the strategy’s mission is to “identify, understand, and neutralize foreign intelligence threats and protect U.S. interests, assets, and people at home and abroad from espionage, sabotage, assassination, or other foreign intelligence activities or operations.”

The strategy aims “to outmaneuver and constrain foreign intelligence entities, protect America’s strategic advantages, and invest in the future to meet tomorrow’s threats,” said NCSC Director Michael Casey.

Last week, the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) warned that Chinese investors could exploit early-stage investments in U.S. technology startups to steal their sensitive data and intellectual property, undermining U.S. economic and national security.

There are multiple high-profile cases regarding Chinese espionage. Earlier this year, a Chinese-born researcher was arrested for allegedly stealing technologies used to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles. In 2017, four Chinese military-backed hackers hacked Equifax and stole the personal information of about 145 million Americans.

In 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the intelligence agency opened an investigation into a new Chinese counterintelligence case every 10 hours. He also noted that the bureau had more than 2,000 active China-related counterintelligence investigations at the time.

In April, Wray sounded the alarm that Beijing runs the world’s largest hacking network and has “a bigger hacking program than every other major nation combined.”

He also warned that Chinese hackers have infiltrated America’s critical infrastructure and were pre-positioned to launch cyberattacks against these facilities at the right moment.