Foreign Counterintelligence

By Presidential Order, the FBI is the lead agency for conducting and coordinating counterintelligence investigations in the United States. National security is the FBI's number one strategic priority. The mission of the Foreign Counterintelligence Program is to identify, prevent, and defeat intelligence operations conducted by any foreign power within the United States, or against certain U.S. interests abroad. Investigative efforts have traditionally focused on strategic military threats, but are increasingly focusing on espionage and the theft of trade secrets and intellectual property. These illegal acts effect our country's economic health and competitiveness, to the detriment of national security.