- DCSA has flagged exploitation of experts as the top foreign targeting method
- East Asia, the Pacific and the Near East drove two-thirds of collection activity
- The 2026 Intel Summit next week will explore OSINT and counterespionage
The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency has published a report finding that foreign intelligence entities relied on expert outreach, cyber operations, employment-related approaches and commercial activity to target sensitive U.S. technology and information held by cleared industry and academia.
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DCSA said Thursday the report draws on more than 22,000 suspicious contact reports submitted by cleared contractor facilities during fiscal year 2025, from which the agency identified roughly 2,900 incidents involving foreign entities seeking sensitive information or technology.
What Are the Most Targeted Technology Categories?
DCSA reported that services and other products, electronics, and aeronautic systems were the three most frequently targeted technology categories, together accounting for 41 percent of all reporting.
Beyond these top categories, foreign entities also pursued AI-enabled software, unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electronics, telecommunications, modeling and simulation tools and restricted satellite imagery, according to the report.
What Is the Leading Method of Operation?
Exploitation of experts was the most commonly reported method of operation, representing 28 percent of incidents, DCSA found. The agency said foreign entities frequently sought consultations, peer reviews or conference invitations to gain access to cleared subject matter experts, researchers and technical personnel.
Exploitation of cyber operations also remained a significant method across multiple regions, with cyberactors targeting public-facing websites, contractor networks and other points of trust within organizational ecosystems, according to the report. Email was the most common method of contact at 30 percent, followed by academic resume submissions at 15 percent and web form submissions at 14 percent.
What Are Other Key Findings From the Report?
- East Asia and the Pacific accounted for 48 percent of DCSA reporting in fiscal year 2025, remaining the leading regional source of foreign collection activity
- The Near East followed at 19 percent, and the two regions combined represented 67 percent of all reporting
- Commercial entities were the most frequently identified collector affiliation across multiple regions
- Some foreign entities attempted to circumvent sanctions and export controls by using intermediaries or front companies to obtain U.S. technologies
DCSA encouraged cleared contractors and facility security officers to validate unsolicited employment, consultation and business proposals and to report suspicious contacts through established security channels
How Does the Latest Report Tie Into DCSA’s Security & Industrial Base Push?
The latest DCSA report on foreign intelligence targeting of the cleared defense industrial base lands amid a string of related moves by the agency. On the personnel side, DCSA has already moved to revise continuous vetting requirements for defense contractors, replacing periodic reinvestigations with five-year questionnaire updates.
Separately, a Government Accountability Office report identified shortfalls in DCSA’s industrial data security oversight, finding hundreds of violations and unresolved vulnerabilities across contractor facilities in fiscal year 2025.
Background investigation capacity is also in motion. DCSA has issued a draft request for proposals for the Case Processing Operations Center 2.0 support contract.
At the leadership level, DCSA recently appointed Joseph Tonon as director. The agency has also moved to launch a mentor-protege program aimed at broadening small business participation in the defense supply chain.
