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#HappeningNow: #FBI Director Wray speaks to the Council on Foreign Relations about national security, the threat posed by China, and the need for strong partnerships across many sectors. @CFR_org ow.ly/BJWC50sfEXa
Director Wray: Threats we face today are too diverse, too dangerous, & too all-encompassing for any of us to tackle alone. As #FBI Director, I can see firsthand the incredible strides we’ve made toward keeping people safe from all kinds of harm, & from a wide array of bad guys.
Director Wray: 9/11 was a game-changer in so many terrible ways – not just for the U.S. & our own national security apparatus, but for the whole world. Those attacks blew apart any notion of separation between foreign & domestic threats.
Director Wray: Though none of us could have foreseen where we would be now, today, in 2019, we all knew the world had shifted around us. And now when I look forward, it strikes me that we face yet another paradigm shift in the way we view the world.
Director Wray: Criminal & terrorist threats are morphing beyond traditional actors & tactics. We still have to worry about an Al Qaeda cell planning a large-scale attack, but we also have to worry about homegrown violent extremists who are radicalizing in the shadows.
Director Wray: We’re seeing what we call a “blended threat” where #cyber crime & espionage merge together in all kinds of new ways. We still confront traditional espionage threats, but economic espionage dominates our counterintelligence program.
Director Wray: No country poses a broader, more severe intelligence collection threat than China. China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation in any way it can, from a wide array of businesses, universities, & organizations.
Director Wray: They’re doing it through Chinese intelligence services, through state-owned enterprises, through ostensibly private companies, through students & researchers, & through a variety of actors working on behalf of China.
Director Wray: We have economic espionage investigations that almost invariably lead back to China in all 56 field offices, spanning almost every industry or sector. This goes beyond fair-market competition. It’s illegal & it’s a threat to our economic security & nat’l security.
Director Wray: Put plainly, China seems determined to steal its way up to the economic ladder, at our expense. And, the U.S. is by no means their only target. They’re strategic in their approach, and they actually have a formal plan to achieve dominance in critical areas.
Director Wray: They’re using an expanding set of non-traditional methods, weaving together things like foreign investment & corporate acquisitions w/ #cyber intrusions & supply chain threats…They’re calculating. They’re focused. They’re patient and persistent.
Director Wray: Overlaying all these threats is our ever-expending use of technology: next-generation telecommunication networks, like 5G, the rise of AI and machine learning, cryptocurrencies, unmanned aerial systems, & deep fakes.
Director Wray: Taken together, these are generational threats that will shape our nation’s future. They’ll shape the world around us. They’ll determine where we stand and what we look like 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 50 years from now.
Director Wray: Our folks in the #FBI are working their tails off every day to find & stop criminals, terrorists, & nation-state adversaries. We’re using a broad set of tools…& we’ve got task forces across the country, w/ partners from hundreds of local, state, & fed agencies.
Director Wray: We’ve got Legal Attaches stationed around the world to focus on joint investigations and information sharing.
Director Wray: But we can’t tackle all these threats on our own. We’ve got to work together, particularly with those of you in the private sector. We need to focus on a whole-of-society approach, because in many ways we confront whole-of-society threats.
Director Wray: While I hear about the same threats & the same concerns everywhere I go, I also hear about how much more effectively we’re working w/ partners across the board, w/ whole new levels of teamwork. That’s exactly the kind of thing we need to keep building on every day.
Director Wray: In our country, the vast majority of critical infrastructure & intellectual property is in the hands of the private sector…you’re on the front lines. You know the risks, you know the weak spots, & you’re more likely to see emerging threats coming down the road.
Director Wray: Nation-state actors are also targeting academia, including professors, research scientists, & graduate students. They seek our cutting-edge research, our advanced technology, & our world-class equipment & expertise.
Director Wray: We’ve got to keep building trusted relationships with all of you, so that you know, with confidence, that we’re here to help. I really do believe it’s the only way we can maintain & strengthen our firm footing as the world continues to shift around us.
