It’s fair to say that America is scared.
The new U.S. counterintelligence strategy for 2020-2022 formulates five objectives, and first on the list of threats names Russia and China. The document was made public by the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
“The number of players targeting the United States is growing. Russia and China act all over the world, use all instruments of national power against the United States and have a wide range of modern intelligence capabilities”, – the document says.
Other threats include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Hezbollah, the terrorist organizations “Islamic State ” and “Al-Qaeda”, as well as transnational criminal organizations. This is the first of three trends in the current situation in terms of American counterintelligence.
The second is the use of increasingly sophisticated means by the aforementioned players. Attention is drawn to biometric devices, autonomous systems, high-resolution images, advanced encryption and surveillance mechanisms, as well as data analysis.
“These technologies have opened new opportunities for opponents to use information as a strategic resource in achieving their economic security goals and putting pressure on their competitors”, – the strategy says.
Once again, America is paranoid that they are being watched.
The third trend is the application of these tools to a wider range of goals and vulnerabilities. The purpose of foreign intelligence, according to the authors of the document, is the majority of U.S. ministries and agencies, laboratories, the financial sector, industrial enterprises and so on. Some actions of foreign intelligence are aimed at disrupting critical infrastructure and military facilities in the event of a crisis, the strategy states.
“Public opinion in the U.S. and its allies is also the object of foreign influence”, – the document says.
All this threatens to undermine the U.S. military advantage, including in space, as well as “shatter the integrity, credibility and authenticity of American products and services”, – the authors write.
On Monday, the White House published its budget for fiscal year 2021, in which China and Russia were also identified as the main threats.
Commenting on this information, Oleg Morozov, a member of the international committee of the Council of Federation, noted that Russia is the main adversary for the United States, so Washington will seek to counter Moscow.