2011 Targeting U.S. Technologies: A Trend Analysis of Reporting from Defense Industry - DSS Protection of National Security Classified Information from Espionage, Sabotage, and Terrorism

Every day, foreign entities attempt to break through our collective defenses to illegally acquire U.S. technological secrets. Our national security rests on our collective success at thwarting these persistent attacks. The stakes are high in the battle against foreign collection and espionage targeting U.S. technology, trade secrets, and proprietary information. Not only is our national security at risk but also our technological edge, which is closely tied to the health of our economy and the economic success of the cleared contractor community. Most importantly, every time our adversaries gain access to restricted information it jeopardizes the lives of our warfighters, since those adversaries can use the information to develop more lethal weapons or countermeasures to our systems.

Preventing such loss is a team effort. The Defense Security Service (DSS) supports national security by overseeing the protection of the nation's technological base and both U.S. and foreign classified information in the hands of cleared industry. The DSS Counterintelligence Directorate seeks to identify and stop those who would unlawfully penetrate our defenses. In this mission, DSS relies on the support of cleared contractor employees and the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities. This publication, Targeting U.S. Technologies: A Trend Analysis of Reporting from Defense Industry, presents the annual statistical analysis of suspicious contact reports (SCRs) from industry provided to the Defense Security Service (DSS). The information contained in this publication helps employees, companies, and intelligence and law enforcement professionals better understand the continuing yet changing nature of the threats we face. Increased awareness of the targeted technologies and the methods of operation that foreign entities use in their attempts to acquire U.S. technologies will only make us better at identifying and thwarting their efforts.

Like any publication, this one is only as good as the information that goes into it. The SCRs DSS analyzes originate with cleared contractor employees. Timely and accurate reporting of illicit collection attempts are the foundation upon which this process rests. Thus, the cleared contractor community is both a supplier to and a customer of DSS. This long-standing and interdependent relationship functions best when both partners understand all stakeholders' needs, build strong relationships on the basis of trust, and interact with each other in a cooperative fashion.

The process that begins with reporting and continues with ongoing and collective analysis reaches its ultimate stage in successful investigations or operations. In fiscal year 2010, federal investigative or intelligence agencies opened more than 200 operations or investigations based on information that industry provided to DSS. These foreign collectors were identified, isolated, diverted, or otherwise thwarted.