FBI InfraGard Training Webinar: “China – The Risk To Academia”

Attention InfraGard members,
FBI InfraGard Training Webinar:  “China – The Risk To Academia”

Event Start: 08/19/2019 1:00 PM Central
Event End: 08/19/2019
2:00 PM Central

Earlier this year, the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and Office of Private Sector released an overview of threats posed by the Chinese government and risks specific to academia.  This webinar will build upon these resources and will include case examples, tradecraft, potential vulnerabilities, and threat indicators.  As of 2018, more than 1.4 million international students and professors were participating in America’s open and collaborative academic environment.  The inclusion of these international scholars at U.S. colleges and universities entails both substantial benefit and notable risk.  Many of these visitors contribute to the impressive successes and achievements enjoyed by these institutions, which produce advanced research, cutting-edge technology, and insightful scholarship.  However, this open environment also puts academia at risk for exploitation by foreign actors, particularly foreign state adversaries, who seek to illicitly or illegitimately acquire U.S. academic research and information to advance their scientific, economic, and military development goals.  While the vast majority of students and researchers from China are in the U.S. for legitimate academic reasons and contribute to the diversity of backgrounds and ideas important in our society, the Chinese government uses some students and professors to operate as non-traditional collectors of intellectual property.

This webinar will complement the May 2019 webinar titled “China: The Risk To Corporate America” that is currently on the InfraGard members-only portal.  However, the August 19 webinar will emphasize how the U.S. higher education system can continue to enjoy the manifold contributions that international academics provide while minimizing the risk they (and their affiliated home governments) pose to U.S. security priorities.  Foreign adversaries’ acquisition efforts can come in many forms, including overt theft, plagiarism, elicitation, and the commercialization of early-stage collaborative research.

Main speaker Charles Lundy became the FBI’s Senior National Intelligence Officer (SNIO) for China in May 2009 after 21 years in the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) East Asia Division working China and Taiwan political-military issues and Korean political-military and military forces issues.  His last DIA assignment was a White House rotational assignment with the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.  SIO Lundy also completed temporary duty assignments at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff intelligence watch, and a National Intelligence Support Team in Bosnia.  He has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English from James Madison University and a Master’s degree in Political Science from George Washington University.

This webinar is open to all professionals who are U.S. citizens, and InfraGard members can forward the invitation to any trusted interested colleagues.  Connection and dial-in details will be delivered via an automatic email from the Zoom software after registration.

To register, go to https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SHM5VvT6QSGUNTHrMtnfrw .  Pre-registration is required, and the webinar is limited to 1,000 attendees nationally.  No PowerPoint slides will be distributed, but the webinar will be recorded for later viewing on the “Webinars/Videos” section of the InfraGard Portal, and unclassified handouts will be provided to attendees.  Questions about logistics for this webinar can be emailed to FBIINFRAGARDWEBINARS@fbi.gov.  For all other InfraGard matters, please contact your local representatives.

Technical Support Note: Some networks may have an automatic filter against software on webinar websites in general.  If you get an error message or are otherwise unable to access the Zoom website, please contact your local network administrator.

Scroll to top