• Unsolicited and Direct requests for information:
  • An unsolicited request for information is any request that was not sought or encouraged, for information from a known or unknown company, or from another country. The explosive growth of the Internet and abundance of free e-mail accounts has resulted in increased cases involving suspicious internet activity.
  • A request for information dealing with your contracts, export controlled information or proprietary information.
• Foreign Visits and Targeting: A suspicious contact can occur before, during, or after a visit.
  • Last minute and unannounced persons added to the visiting party
  • Wandering visitors who act offended when confronted
  • Foreign entity attempts a commercial visit
  • Visitors ask questions outside the scope of the approved visit (if they ask, report it, it doesn't matter if you did not give them any information)
  • Visitors claim business-related interest but lack experience researching and developing technology
  • Visitors ask to meet personnel from their own countries and attempt to establish continuing contact with them
• Staff and Conferences:
  • You receive an all expenses paid invitation to lecture in a foreign nation
  • Entities want a summary of the requested presentation of brief 6-12 months prior to the lecture
  • While in the foreign nation, you observe excessive or suspicious photography and filming of your technology and products
  • Casual conversations during and after the event hinting at future contacts or relations
  • Foreign attendees business cards do not match stated affiliations
• Exploitation of Relationships. When working side by side, personnel sometimes get comfortable around foreign persons which can provide significant collection opportunities for foreign interests
• Foreign Employment Offers or Resumes

It is our staff's responsibility to report any contact by foreign or unusual conctact by U.S. citizens to security.  It then becomes our duty as FSOs to forward the information (name of contact, what was asked for/about, contact information of requestor, when/where/how approached, forwarded email header, etc.) to our IS Reps, the Counterintelligence Representive (CI Rep) in the local DSS Field Office, the FBI, and your client's security representative (especially if the client is a government agency).  This information is collected, researched, followed up on and results in the identification of spies and/or identifying targeted technologies and information.  We sometimes see the results in the news, but more often receive the Technology Collection Trends that DSS publishes and defensive briefings by our IS and CI reps on the threats to our companies.