WASHINGTON (TNND) — U.S. officials are warning of a significant increase in foreign spies trying to steal U.S. information. Mike Casey, the country’s chief counterintelligence officer, said the number of spies trying to covertly infiltrate American tech companies is increasing.
Bill Reals, an information technology expert, said Casey’s warning was aimed at raising awareness of what was going on.
“We are seeing a significant increase in foreign adversaries stepping up attacks against American institutions,” Rials said.
Casey said the U.S. economy and national security could be at risk, especially since China is targeting these technologies.
“To undermine America’s technological, economic, and security advances over time,” Reals said.
Rials said one group targeted by such spies is startups looking for investors and partners.
“The goal of most startups is to innovate quickly. Innovate rapidly. We still think about tomorrow’s new things, sometimes security, but that’s secondary to innovation,” Reals said. spoke.
Kevan Jacobson, a former military politics professor, said the rise in foreign spies is not all that surprising. China has been trying to gather intelligence on the United States for many years.
They are very active in trying to gather as much information as possible across the instruments of state power,” Jacobson said.
That’s why he believes that as more new companies enter the market, spies will follow.
“They will join us as we immerse ourselves more deeply into the cyber world, the cyber universe,” Jacobson said.
Earlier this week, the Five Eyes Alliance (US, Australia, UK, New Zealand, Canada) launched an online portal providing information to help startups protect themselves.
