Annual Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage: 1999
Abstract
The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 requires that the President annually submit to Congress updated information on the threat to U.S. industry from foreign economic collection and industrial espionage. This report updates the fourth "Annual Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage," which was released in 1998. As a result of the global shift toward economic and technological competition, some foreign countries are becoming increasingly engaged in economic and industrial espionage. Foreign targeting of U.S. technology and economic and proprietary information is a growing concern. Economic and industrial espionage against the United States by foreign entities, both government-sponsored and private, threatens U.S. economic competitiveness and results in the loss of millions of U.S. dollars and thousands of jobs annually. The United States continues to be the preeminent world power. It has vital economic interests and military responsibilities around the globe. The protection of trade secret information, critical technologies, and proprietary information is an integral part of U.S. economic security. Due to the importance of maintaining U.S. economic competitiveness, current policy is to treat foreign threats to the economic well-being of the United States as a national security issue. Foreign countries, including some traditional allies, continue their attempts to collect information against U.S. interests. While foreign efforts persist, the U.S. Intelligence Community has detected no significant change from past patterns in both the nature and extent of the threat or in the type of technologies being targeted and collection methods employed. As in previous years, over a half dozen nations continue to be the most active collectors of U.S. proprietary information and critical technologies. These nations gather information through both open and legal means as well as through clandestine efforts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA465108