Increasing Effectiveness of U.S. Counterintelligence: Domestic and International Micro-Restructuring Initiatives to Mitigate

Abstract

Cyberespionage is a prolific threat that undermines the power projection capacity of the United States through reduced economic prowess and a narrowing of the technical advantage employed by the American military. International attempts to limit hostile cyber activity through the development of institutions, normative patterns of behavior, or assimilation of existing laws do not provide the American national security decision maker with a timely or effective solution to address these threats. Unfortunately, the stove-piped, redundant and inefficient nature of the U.S. counterintelligence community does not deliver a viable alternative to mitigating cyberespionage in an effective manner. Instituting a domestic and international micro-restructuring approach within the Department of Defense (DoD) addresses the need for increased effectiveness within an environment of fiscal responsibility. Domestic restructuring places emphasis on developing a forcing mechanism that compels the DoD counterintelligence services to develop joint approaches for combating cyberespionage by directly addressing the needs of the Combatant Commands. International restructuring places an emphasis on expanding cybersecurity cooperation to like-minded nations and specifically explores the opportunity and challenges for increased cyber cooperation with Taiwan. This approach recognizes that Taiwan and the United States are both negatively affected from hostile cyber activity derived from within the People’s Republic of China.