Theft of trade secrets is likely the most pressing threat to the security of sensitive information maintained by U.S. companies. As Attorney General Eric Holder stated in 2013, ”[t]here are only two categories of companies affected by trade secret theft: those that know they've been compromised—and those that don't know it yet.”¹

Further, the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive has estimated losses from economic espionage to be in the tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars annually to the American economy.²

Government's Efforts

Under the Obama administration, the U.S. government has grown increasingly active in determining methods to combat and address the loss of valuable trade secrets. In 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Counterintelligence Division created the Economic Espionage Unit, a specialized unit focused solely on prosecuting cases under the Economic Espionage Act (the Act). The Act is the leading weapon for prosecutors seeking to bring a criminal suit against potential criminal defendants.³ The Economic Espionage Unit works with private sector partners to investigate and prosecute trade secret theft under the Act.⁴

The FBI reports that, from 2009 to the end of 2013, the number of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets cases overseen by the Economic Espionage Unit increased by more than 60 percent.⁵ Further, the FBI reports that economic espionage and theft of trade secrets represent the largest growth area among the traditional espionage cases overseen by the Counterintelligence Division's Counterespionage Section.⁶