Threat Information

Threat Awareness for Industry & Academia

Threat Awareness for Industry & Academia

threat

eLearning Courses

Job Aids

Reports

  • Foreign Economic Espionage in Cyberspace 2018
    This National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) report focuses on foreign economic and industrial espionage against the United States; foreign intelligence services and threat actors working on their behalf; and disruptive threat trends that warrant attention. This report is more applicable for network administrators, information technology and security personnel, and senior leaders.
  • Targeting U.S. Technologies: A report of Foreign Targeting of Cleared Industry 2019
    The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) produces an annual report of trends from the suspicious contact reporting coming in from cleared industry. Although this is geared for cleared industry, there is a discussion of the basic methods of operation and contact used. This report is best suited for security personnel.
  • DCSA: Foreign Intelligence Recruitment of Cleared Academia
    Foreign Intelligence entities (FIE), specifically China and Russia, use academic talent recruitment plans and academic excellence initiatives to collect U.S. scientific research and technologies in a strategic effort to enhance their militaries and economies. China and Russia often utilize foreign students accepted to U.S. universities or at postgraduate research programs to collect sensitive U.S. Government information and/or technology. Additionally, Iran uses government-sponsored initiatives to persuade students studying abroad to return and share their knowledge. FIE target U.S. subject matter experts (SMEs), professors, and researchers in order to obtain sensitive U.S. Government information and technology.

Toolkits

  • DCSA Threat Awareness Products
    This Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) toolkit houses several job aids applicable to the financial sector. It links to job aids on Academic Solicitation, CI Awareness, Conferences, Conventions & Tradeshows, Cyber Threats, Exploitation of Business Activities, Exploitation of Global Supply Chain, Exploitation of Insider Access, Foreign Visits, and Personal Contact.

Watch & Learn

  • Suspicious Emails
    This 10-minute interactive video details the threat of suspicious emails and gives countermeasures and indicators. The video is more focused on solicitation and the attempted illicit acquisition of facility assets or information.
  • Counterintelligence Video Lesson: Request for Information and Suspicious Emails
    This is a three minute news video on YouTube detailing an actual arrest of a foreign national for smuggling, moneylaundering, and conspiracy to commit espionage. Although the example concerns export controlled items, this is applicable to any facility in any sector as the methods used to illicitly acquire the goods are universal.
  • Economic Espionage
    This 36 minute YouTube video and accompanying information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the dramatization of a true story concerning the attempted recruitment of an employee to commit economic espionage.

Webinars

  • Counterintelligence and Insider Threat in the Time of COVID-19
    This hour long webinar focuses on the CI and Insider Threat and highlights some of the evolving threat vectors because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. This webinar is applicable for all employees.
  • 2019 Targeting U.S Technologies Report
    This hour long webinar focuses on foreign efforts to compromise and/or exploit cleared personnel in order to obtain unauthorized access to sensitive and classified information. This unclassified format provides analysis of the technology targeted, the methods of operation used, and the geographical regions targeting cleared industry and is based off of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) annual trends report. Although this webinar is geared for cleared industry, there is a discussion of the basic methods of operation and contact used. This report is best suited for security personnel.
  • Counterintelligence Support to Personnel Security
    This hour long webinar discusses the Personnel Security (PERSEC) mission by identifying foreign intelligence entity(FIE) threats to personnel and enacting efforts to detect, deter, and neutralize the threat. This webinar is applicable for all facility personnel.

National Counterintelligence and Security Center