Former Head of FBI Counterintelligence Bill Priestap on Top Spy Threats

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, Bill Priestap, the former head of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, speaks with host Michael Morell about the evolving counterintelligence challenges facing the United States. Priestap, now a Centennial Fellow with Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, explains how nation-state adversaries are extending their reach beyond traditional espionage channels to target diplomatic, military, business and academic sectors to collect intelligence on U.S. targets. Priestap explains why the lack of immediacy that is characteristic of “gradual” espionage efforts means some of the damage it can cause is undetected, and tells Morell why the academic sector may be particularly vulnerable to the theft of secrets.