Securing U.S. Innovation: The Challenge of Preserving a Competitive Advantage in the Creation of Knowledge

As experienced by the United States, competition has played out in three distinct types of threat activity: sabotage (the destruction of capabilities), espionage (the theft of specific capabilities), and defection (the carrying of knowledge out of the country). Today, the changing innovation environment has created new challenges. Significant advances are being made in start-ups as well as larger companies who no longer rely on U.S. government contracts. Not only does this place a key element of national power in the hands of the private sector, but it often leaves Washington at an informational disadvantage in understanding technologies. This book analyzes these concepts from the perspective of the United States’ experience in the field of innovation security. Historical and recent examples illustrate the threats to innovation, the various approaches to mitigating them, and how the evolution of the innovative process now requires rethinking how the United States can benefit from and preserve its cutting edge human capital.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Theoretical and Legal Framework for Understanding the Role of Intelligence in Securing Innovation Chapter 2: Entities Responsible For Securing U.S. Capacities for Innovation Chapter 3: Institutions of Innovation Intelligence Collection Chapter 4: Selling Out - The Risks for Companies Seeking Markets Abroad Chapter 5: Selling Out - Part II Chapter 6: Buying In - Part I Chapter 7: Buying In - Part II Chapter 8: The Evolving Relationship between the U.S. Government and Industry in Innovation and Implications for National Security Chapter 9: Impacts of Innovation Theft on U.S. National Security Chapter 10: Defending Against and Disrupting Threat to Innovation Conclusion Selected Bibliography About the Authors

About the Author :
Darren E. Tromblay is a strategic intelligence analyst with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Robert G. Spelbrink is an FBI Special Agent, Strategic Partnership Program, Washington Field Office.

Review :
Securing US Innovation is a thorough exposition and exploration of the balance between being an open, innovative society and how its competitive advantage can be secured from appropriation by other entities (individuals, companies and states, etc.). The authors’ describe how America, as the long-term, dominant technology leader in the world, fights against espionage, theft, etc., to secure these elements of international, global power. The text presents what is a lucid yet dense discussion from the American perspective, focusing on innovation security. The authors’ share various historical and recent examples to elucidate their point of view. Given the complexity of the subject matter, this text is written in clear and concise language that attempts to cut through the policy thicket and provide a balanced understanding of these complex matters. This is an important text that should serve as a wake-up call for this important issue. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students through professionals. [T]he Washington defense and intelligence establishment is fighting a different war: the war on terror. But the war on commercial espionage is at best a skirmish, at least in terms of our response. This is why the new book Securing U.S. Innovation: The Challenge of Preserving a Competitive Advantage in the Creation of Knowledge is so important. Written by Darren Tromblay and Robert Spelbrink, a career FBI intelligence analyst and agent, respectively, the book is a must read for anyone concerned about America’s economic future…. This book, a wake-up call to U.S. companies, universities, think tanks, and others who for too long have turned a blind eye to the challenge of foreign innovation acquisition, should be required reading for the next U.S. president. Tromblay and Spelbrink provide an insiders’ view of U.S. governments efforts to stop the rampant and growing “pillaging” of U.S. knowledge by foreign actors. They provide a no holds barred look at how our adversaries, and even “allies,” are engaged in a systemic effort to collect and exploit key information, including “buying in,” “selling out” and outright theft of key U.S. technology assets, posing a key threat to U.S. military and commercial innovation leadership. This book, a wake-up call to U.S. companies, universities, think tanks and others who for too long have turned a blind eye to the challenge of foreign innovation acquisition, should be required reading for the next US President. Once the dominant technological nation in the world America now finds itself fighting to maintain that edge. A must-read for government and corporate leaders, Securing U.S. Innovation provides an exceptional survey of the critical challenges facing America and its long-standing preeminence. Tromblay and Spellbrink offer rich analysis that articulates why a fall from technological dominance would be neither simply a government or industry problem but, instead, truly a national-level problem. A seminal and powerful work, no other book captures the total complexity and nuance of the issues facing industry and government technical collaboration and innovation in the 21st Century.