Homeland Security Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Economic Espionage

Washington, D.C. – The Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence chaired by Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA), will hold a hearing entitled “Economic Espionage: A Foreign Intelligence Threat to American Jobs and Homeland Security” tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Room 311 Cannon House Office Building.

Foreign economic and industrial espionage against the U.S. represents a significant and growing threat.  Tomorrow’s hearing will examine the severity of economic espionage perpetrated by foreign actors, and the economic cost to both the public and private sectors in terms of American competitiveness and jobs.  In addition, Members will hear what the Department of Commerce, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are doing to confront the issue, and the solutions needed for U.S. businesses to better understand and mitigate the threat.

Just this week, the head of the U.K.’s internal counter intelligence agency, MI5, told a London audience that business and government in the U.K are under assault from criminal and state-sponsored cyber attacks and economic espionage on an "industrial scale," with one London company incurring revenue losses of more than $1.2 billion as a result of a hostile state-sponsored attack.

Meehan said: “This hearing will examine the threat posed to the U.S. government and private businesses from economic espionage conducted by foreign intelligence services and corporations with ties to foreign governments, including China and Iran, among others.  According to the Department of Justice, this has become a national security issue that threatens the homeland by diminishing American competitiveness and costs jobs.  The Director General of Britain’s MI5 has described the level of economic espionage today as “astonishing.”

“We will hear from a panel of government witnesses from the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Commerce about the nature and severity of the threat and its costs to the economy.  We will also learn what the U.S. Government is doing to combat the threat, including its work with small and medium-sized businesses to prevent the loss of trade secrets and intellectual property.”

What:                Subcommittee Hearing on Economic Espionage: A Foreign Intelligence Threat to American Jobs and Homeland Security

When:               10:00 a.m., Thursday, June 28, 2012

Where:              311 Cannon House Office Building

                         **Live video feed available HERE.               

Opening statements, witness testimony, and the live video feed will be available online HERE. 

Witness List:

Dr. Stuart Graham
Chief Economist
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
U.S. Department of Commerce

Mr. John P. Woods
Assistant Director
Homeland Security Investigations
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Mr. Frank Figliuzzi
Assistant Director
Counterintelligence Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
U.S. Department of Justice

Mr. Gregory C. Wilshusen
Director
Information Security Issues
Government Accountability Office

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