The changes are being driven in part by fears in the intelligence community and the Pentagon that China's military is tapping the expertise of Chinese engineers working in the US and China-based suppliers to US companies.
The national counterintelligence office says China has been able to exploit the free flow of people and technology created by globalization to become one of the top countries attempting to acquire US technology illegally, spokesman Kelley said.
In its annual assessment of China's military, the US said July 19 that China is using its contacts with US, European, Russian and Israeli companies to acquire civilian technology and know-how that may be used to build up its military capabilities.
"There is no question that the Chinese have a robust industrial espionage infrastructure here in the US," said John Tkacik, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based research organization. "The Defense Department is at wit's end trying to find enough people to put their thumbs in leaky dikes."
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