After passing legislation that could pump almost $250 billion into cutting-edge scientific research and semiconductor manufacturing, lawmakers are turning their attention to protecting the fruits of that spending from theft by America’s rivals, particularly China.
The Senate Intelligence Committee last week released a report and held a hearing to examine the counterintelligence threats not only to government entities but also to private companies and universities that are increasingly targeted by foreign spy agencies trying to steal the latest technological advances.
“The classic spy versus spy model” of espionage that emerged in the aftermath of World War II “is pretty much in the historic dustbins at this point,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chairman of the committee, said at the hearing.
