National Security: FBI Should Strengthen Partnerships to Combat Non-Traditional Intelligence Collectors

What GAO Found According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), non-traditional intelligence collectors (NTCs) are individuals whose primary profession is not intelligence collection, but who actively or passively collect sensitive U.S. information on behalf of foreign entities. For example, researchers and students at universities may act as NTCs if they collect non-public research on behalf of a foreign entity. According to the FBI, unlike intelligence officers, NTCs function independently of established intelligence organizations. FBI officials and representatives from academic associations identified several challenges in addressing threats posed by NTCs. For example, FBI officials said that it is difficult to identify and investigate NTCs because their activities may not constitute a violation of the law until information is transferred to foreign entities. Also, there are cultural differences between the FBI and academia that may impede communication, as academic institutions promote the free exchange of information, and, according to FBI officials, may not want to be perceived as “turning over” their students. FBI offices involved in mitigating and investigating threats posed by NTCs are the Office of Private Sector, which leads information-sharing and engagement with the private sector, and the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. The FBI also uses the National Counterintelligence Task Force and field office-based Counterintelligence Task Forces to coord