The United States is facing a series of unprecedented threats from foreign intelligence agencies, some of which are increasingly cooperating with each other to gain an advantage, according to a newly approved strategy to blunt the impact of espionage.
The National Counterintelligence Strategy, signed by President Joe Biden on Thursday, calls out Russia, China, Iran and North Korea as the main culprits, identifying Moscow and Beijing as “the most significant intelligence threats.”
But the document warns they are increasingly launching more aggressive operations and even working together, or with others, to undermine the U.S.
U.S. counterintelligence officials “see our leading adversaries cooperating more frequently with one another, enhancing the threat they pose,” the strategy warns, adding that “many PRC [People’s Republic of China], Russian, and Iranian intelligence activities still go undetected.”
“Commercial entities are playing increasingly important enabling roles,” it adds.
In some cases, foreign spy services are turning to widely available products to better conduct surveillance or collect massive amounts of data. In other instances, spies are using technology to infiltrate critical systems belonging both to the U.S. government and private entities.
“A growing number of commercial firms are flooding the market with high-quality cyber intrusion tools, expanding the pool of [foreign intelligence] actors that can threaten our networks and people,” the strategy says.
But U.S. intelligence officials have warned that in other cases, adversaries are turning to private companies to mask their involvement.
Earlier this week, a U.S. intelligence official warned that Russia in particular was turning to private Russian companies in its effort to meddle with the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
“This includes outsourcing its efforts to commercial firms to hide its hand,” the official said.
Officials accused Beijing of also using companies in China and in the Middle East and Latin America to push disinformation campaigns and carry out other influence operations.
China and Russia have repeatedly dismissed such accusations, with Beijing accusing the U.S. of being “the biggest disseminator of disinformation.”
The warning of growing intelligence cooperation among key U.S. adversaries, however, echoes warnings of a growing collaboration on other fronts.
U.S. and Western officials have recently accused Russia, China, Iran and North Korea of forming a new “Axis of Evil,” working together to supply Moscow with weapons and ammunition for its war in Ukraine.
"It is a concern. It is a concern that you have both China, North Korea, Russia, Iran — countries that are not necessarily coordinated in the past — looking to figure out how they can have impact," U.S. President Joe Biden said during a news conference last month.
"There is no time to lose," a NATO official told VOA, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the expanding cooperation. "This must be a key priority for all our allies.”
The new U.S. counterintelligence strategy seeks to provide U.S. intelligence agencies with a road map to counter the growing threats.
Part of that involves investing in technologies and programs to help U.S. intelligence agencies better detect plots, anticipate threats and more widely share that information with other government agencies and allies.
The strategy also calls for more use of artificial intelligence, or AI, to better defend against espionage activities and to launch offensive campaigns aimed at disrupting foreign plots.
“Foreign intelligence and security services and their proxies persist in seeking to acquire our most sensitive information, technology and intellectual property. Nonstate actors are following suit,” Biden wrote in an introduction to the new counterintelligence strategy.
The strategy, he added, “ensures we are well-positioned to counter foreign intelligence threats.”
