U.S. counterintelligence agencies warned the U.S. space industry on Friday of the theft of research and commercial secrets by foreign intelligence entities as they try to advance the country’s space program.
“We expect an increasing threat to this emerging sector of the U.S. economy,” a U.S. counterintelligence official told Reuters, adding that “China and Russia are among the major foreign intelligence threats to the U.S. space industry.” .”
The FBI, National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) released a two-page bulletin saying unspecified foreign entities are using cyberattacks and strategic investments, among other things, to Technology joint ventures and acquisitions to gain access to the US aerospace industry.
The move is the latest in Washington’s efforts to raise awareness of an issue that has long plagued counterintelligence officials and has become an even higher priority as the U.S. space industry spends billions developing new rockets and other technologies question.
The document warns companies to be wary of facility visit requests and attempts to glean confidential information at meetings. It also said individual employees were at risk of being recruited by offering foreign travel or consulting work, as well as paying for proprietary information.
It urged businesses to contact the FBI or AFOSI if they fear being targeted, and to track “special incidents” and establish an “insider threat” plan as part of vetting individuals for sensitive positions.
U.S. authorities have said for years that Chinese hackers have targeted U.S. space technology, including access to computers at NASA’s Goddard Space Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as numerous companies involved in aviation, aerospace and satellite technology.
In 2019, Chinese national Li Tao was sentenced to 40 months in prison for conspiring to illegally export military and aerospace-grade technology, including radiation-hardened power amplifiers and circuits, to China.
China says its space program is for peaceful purposes, but U.S. military officials say Beijing sees space as vital to its military strategy.
The United States warned this year that China aims to match or overtake the United States as a leader in space by 2045.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
Svlook
