Insider Espionage Is a Growing Threat
Because espionage is a secret activity, we cannot know how many undiscovered spies are currently active in American organizations or what the future will bring in terms of discovered espionage cases. Nevertheless, data are available to conclude that the prevalence of insider espionage may be significantly greater today than in the past, and may become more prevalent in the years ahead.
Opportunity and motivation are necessary and sufficient conditions for the crime of espionage. A study by the Defense Personnel Security Research Center (PERSEREC) examined technological, social, and economic trends that are affecting opportunity and motivation for insider espionage. It is assumed that if opportunity and motivation for insider espionage are increasing, then the frequency of espionage is probably also increasing. Conversely, if opportunity and motivation for insider espionage are decreasing, one might conclude that the frequency of espionage is also decreasing. 1
The PERSEREC study identified and examined five trends that are resulting in increased opportunity for insiders to steal classified or other protected information and disseminate it to foreign entities. The term "other protected information" includes dual-use or export-controlled technologies, trade secrets, and proprietary information. The study also identified and examined five trends that are increasing insider motivation to commit espionage. It is noteworthy that this research could not identify a single countervailing trend that will reduce either opportunity or motivation for espionage.
Opportunity for espionage consists of access to classified or other protected information that can be exchanged for money or other benefits, means for making contact with minimal risk to foreign entities interested in obtaining this information, and means for transferring this information to foreign recipients. Technological, social, and economic trends that are increasing opportunities for insider espionage include: technological advancements in information storage and retrieval, an expanding market for protected U.S. information, the increasing globalization of commerce and scientific research, the increasing frequency of international travel, and global Internet expansion.
Information Technology: The development of large, networked databases with automated search functions increases exponentially the amount and variety of information a single malicious insider can access. Search functions make it possible to locate the specific data of greatest value to multiple foreign buyers. Rapid advances in the miniaturization of storage devices make it easier for insiders to remove without detection large quantities of information from the organization where they work. A memory stick or flash drive, also known as a "key chain drive" because it is small enough to carry on a key chain, or a "thumb drive" because it is only the size of a thumb, is readily available and can download up to 2 megabytes of data.
Expanding Market for Protected U.S. Information: Because of the increasingly competitive global economy and the increasing role of technology in the economic development of many countries, more allied and friendly countries are seeking to obtain protected U.S. technology by illegal as well as legal means. Some individuals who consider it reprehensible to sell American technology or military secrets to an avowed enemy of the United States may be less reticent to sell this information to individuals or organizations located in countries that are viewed as friendly to U.S. interests.
Globalization of Commerce and Scientific Research: The increasing globalization of commerce and research is greatly increasing the frequency of personal contact between knowledgeable insiders and foreign nationals potentially interested in exploiting their knowledge. This makes it easier for Americans to find foreign buyers for valuable information as well as for foreign intelligence operatives to locate willing American sellers of information. The frequency and nature of commercial and scientific relationships between American and foreign nationals also makes it more difficult for personnel security and counterintelligence personnel to distinguish relationships that present a significant security risk from the many normal and innocent relationships that do not.
Increasing Frequency of International Travel: The continuing increase in foreign travel both to and from the United States means increasing opportunity for the transfer of classified and other protected information to foreign entities. Whether this interaction occurs in the United States or abroad, American insiders with access to valuable information are better able to establish contact with foreign buyers. Similarly, foreign nationals have more opportunity to spot, assess, and recruit American personnel. Again, because of the increasing number of contacts, it is becoming more difficult for personnel security and counterintelligence personnel to distinguish foreign travel and contacts that are of security concern from those that are not.
Global Internet Expansion: Just as the Internet creates a large and efficient marketplace for exchanging a wide variety of products and services, it can also bring potential buyers and sellers together for the illegal sale of classified or other protected information. It allows potential buyers and sellers of information to learn a great deal about one other, provides means for establishing contact (sometimes anonymously), and can be an efficient and relatively secure mechanism for transmitting almost unlimited quantities of information across national boundaries.
Motivation, broadly defined, is a feeling or state of mind that influences one's choices and actions. It is the result of a complex interaction between personality characteristics and situational factors. Most insiders with access to classified or other protected information possess personal qualities that are not conducive to committing espionage under any circumstances. However, some insiders will become motivated to commit espionage if they encounter the right conditions in their personal or professional lives. Situations that can result in motivation for spying include financial crisis, a gambling addiction, perceived mistreatment by one’s employer, and feelings of obligation or loyalty to a foreign country or to a global community.
Increasing Prevalence of Personal Financial Problems: Of the many factors known to provide motivation for insider espionage, personal financial stress is among the more prominent. Serious financial pressure may cause an individual to turn to theft, fraud, embezzlement, or other illegal behaviors—including espionage—in an effort to alleviate financial pressures. Credit card debt as a percentage of income has been increasing for many years. Lending at high interest rates to individuals with poor credit histories, or who are already burdened with debt, has become a major source of profits and is one of the most rapidly growing segments of the consumer lending industry. The number of nonbusiness bankruptcies increased almost fivefold from 1985 to 2003. The 2005 bankruptcy law revision will significantly increase the financial pressures on employees needing to file for bankruptcy due to unavoidable medical expenses, the loss of a job by a spouse, or divorce, as well as those whose problems are caused by irresponsible spending. Corporations are increasingly replacing the traditional defined-benefit retirement plan with 401(k) plans that shift the burden of retirement saving and investing to the employee. Many employees nearing retirement age lack savings to ensure a comfortable retirement.
Increasing Prevalence of Compulsive Gambling: Moderate gambling, like moderate alcohol use, is an accepted part of our culture. As with alcohol use, however, gambling to excess is a common weakness that can lead to serious security problems. As access to funds becomes limited, compulsive gamblers become more desperate and often resort to crime to garner the money required to pay their debts and sustain their addiction. Compulsive gambling is reportedly the fastest growing addiction among both adults and youth. The increasing prevalence of compulsive gambling suggests that an increasing number of insiders with access to classified or other protected information may become motivated to sell this information for money to pay off gambling debts.
Diminishing Organizational Loyalty: A lack of loyalty to one’s employer, or resentment of an employer that results from perceived or real mistreatment, makes it easier for an insider to rationalize the theft and sale of the employer’s information. Changing conditions in the American workplace suggest that the number of disgruntled employees may be increasing. In striving to compete in the global marketplace, American organizations increasingly engage in practices that alienate some employees. They more often downsize, automate, transfer jobs overseas, and lay off personnel who are no longer needed. They increasingly hire part-time and temporary workers who are offered limited benefits and minimal job security. Terminated American workers are less likely to receive severance pay, extended health benefits, or other types of assistance than in previous decades, and more often suffer from “layoff survivor syndrome” in which mistrust and anxiety has replaced feelings of fidelity to organizations. Many insiders with access to highly marketable technological information are transient workers who voluntarily move from one new employment opportunity to the next, cashing out their career investments on a regular basis.
Ethnic Diversification of the American Workforce: The United States has experienced a profound demographic transformation in the last three decades, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of American citizens with relatives, friends, or business contacts in foreign countries. The total foreign-born population in the United States almost tripled between 1970 and 2000. In 2000, over 10% of the U.S. population was foreign-born, and about 20% had one or more foreign-born parents. Emotional ties to family or friends in a foreign country, or to a foreign government, can result in conflicts of conscience concerning national loyalty. While many foreigners continue to seek residence in the United States, more are coming to the U.S. for economic advantages rather than for political or ideological reasons. An increasing percentage of immigrants chooses not to become American citizens, and more of those who do obtain U.S. citizenship also maintain citizenship elsewhere.
Growing Allegiance to a Global Community: The increasing interaction between Americans and individuals of other nationalities appears to be resulting in a deeper global consciousness among many U.S. citizens and a greater appreciation of other cultures, religious beliefs, and value systems. Studies show that growing numbers of Americans—especially younger generations of Americans—are bicultural in that some aspects of their identity are rooted in local American traditions while other elements are rooted in an awareness of, and sense of belonging to, a larger global culture. These Americans feel a sense of loyalty to both the United States and other nations, simultaneously. They may include within their global community the people of countries that are currently conducting espionage against the United States. The increasing acceptance of global as well as national values may make it easier for a potential spy to rationalize actions that are actually driven by baser motives.
It is important to recognize that the vulnerabilities created by the technological, social, and economic trends presented here compound one another to create an insider espionage risk that is greater than the sum of its parts. That is to say, the risk presented by each trend is exacerbated by the risk that results from each of the other trends.
While it is significant that an increasing number of insiders have access to large networked databases, it is even more significant when they have this access AND can sell more different types of information to a broader range of foreign buyers…AND have greater opportunity to establish contact with and transfer information to foreign entities…AND are more vulnerable to experiencing financial crisis…AND are more vulnerable to becoming disgruntled and are less likely to feel an obligation to the organizations that employ them…AND have close personal ties to other countries…AND have a holistic view of the world that under some circumstances may result in their conceptualizing espionage as morally justifiable.
The obvious implication of these observations is that the incidence of espionage by insiders is likely to be greater today than ever before – and is likely to become more frequent rather than less frequent in the future. Since the technological, social, and economic trends discussed here are not amenable to government control, options for mitigating this increased vulnerability seem to be limited to: (1) reducing the frequency of insider espionage by improving prevention, deterrence, and detection, and (2) reducing the damage that can be done by any single malicious insider by stricter monitoring of access to sensitive networks, compartmentation, and enforcement of need-to-know.
The security clearance process mitigates the risk of insider betrayal in three ways:
1. Kramer, L.A., Heuer, R.J., & Crawford, K.S. (2005). Technological, social, and economic trends that are increasing U.S. vulnerability to insider espionage. (Technical Report 05-10). Monterey, CA: Defense Personnel Security Research Center.