The US space industry, investing billions of dollars in developing new rockets and other technology, faces growing threats from foreign spies trying to steal its research and trade secrets, the US counterintelligence agencies warned on Friday.
Joint bulletin by FBI, NCSC, and AFOSI
As Reuters reports, the FBI, the NCSC, and the AFOSI issued a joint bulletin, saying that foreign intelligence entities, especially from China and Russia, are using various methods to gain access to the US space industry. These methods include cyberattacks, strategic investment, joint ventures, acquisitions, facility visits, conference attendance, and recruitment of employees.
“We anticipate growing threats to this burgeoning sector of the US economy,” a US counterintelligence official told Reuters. “China and Russia are among the leading foreign intelligence threats to the US space industry.”