U.S. Lists Allies Trying to Gather Secrets
March 5 -- The United States says some of its closest allies are suspected of attempting to obtain U.S. commercial and technology secrets.
Japan, Israel, France, South Korea and Taiwan are highlighted as some of the most aggressive in attempting to obtain U.S. business information, through lawful and/or illegal means. China and India, less closely aligned with the U.S., are also named.
The countries were listed in a little-noticed report to Congress published last month on foreign economic and industrial espionage issued by the U.S. National Counter Intelligence Center. The list was based on a survey of about a dozen Fortune 500 companies.
The center coordinates government efforts to identify and counter foreign intelligence threats to U.S. national and economic security. It's staffed by the FBI, CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, State Department, Energy Department and various Pentagon agencies.
"The risks to sensitive business information and advanced technologies have dramatically increased in the post-Cold War era as foreign governments — both former adversaries and allies — have shifted their espionage resources away from military and political targets to commerce," the report said.
Previous reports by the center and other U.S. agencies described the level and types of economic spying but did not name specific countries, citing a need to protect intelligence sources and avoid possible foreign policy repercussions.
Listing specific countries is an important development in light of the need for companies to be aware of who might be targeting them, says Steve Aftergood, a senior research analyst at the Federation of American Scientists. "I think there is a utility in speaking frankly about the issue and letting people know what the hazards might be," he says.
Remi Marechaux, deputy spokesman for the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., says making the list is not necessarily a bad thing.
"It depends on what you call economic espionage," he says. "We have a network of consulates, and all the consulates have a trade section which is in charge of looking for information regarding trade with the U.S. So that's the basic job of our trade section, and that's also what exists with regard to the American presence in France."
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