Cyber Collectors

The Chinese and Russian governments “will remain aggressive and capable collectors of sensitive U.S. economic information and technologies, particularly in cyberspace,” according to a report released today by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive.

“Chinese actors are the world’s most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage. U.S. private sector firms and cybersecurity specialists have reported an onslaught of computer network intrusions that have originated in China, but the [intelligence community] cannot confirm who was responsible,” states the report.

Russia’s intelligence services, meanwhile, “are conducting a range of activities to collect economic information and technology from U.S. targets,” it adds.

Further, the report warns that “some U.S. allies and partners use their broad access to U.S. institutions to acquire sensitive U.S. economic and technology information, primarily through aggressive elicitation and other human intelligence (HUMINT) tactics. Some of these states have advanced cyber capabilities.”