Matthijs R. Koot (@cyberwar.nl)

Perceptions Of Counterintelligence In Corporate And Academic Sectors: Risks, Awareness, And Strategic Implications The United States is in the middle of an intelligence war. Foreign adversaries, including their intelligence services and state-sponsored actors, employ increasingly sophisticated technologies and methods to access our most valuable innovations and secrets. The importance of implementing counterintelligence (CI) practices across all sectors of American society has never been greater. As our adversaries increasingly target non-governmental data environments, it has become essential to address security gaps in our nation’s critical industries, supply chains, and academic institutions. While the last two decades have seen the widespread adoption of cybersecurity protocols, malign actors continue to evolve their tactics to exploit both technical and human vulnerabilities. Counterintelligence can and should be a vital tool for corporations and academia which have become increasingly vulnerable targets for foreign espionage, theft, sabotage, and influence operations. By providing strategic insights and actionable practices, counterintelligence enables organizations to effectively and efficiently recognize and respond to threats that fall outside the scope of traditional cybersecurity. This study aims to explore how counterintelligence is perceived in civilian sectors – specifically corporate and academic institutions – in response to escalating intelligence threats. By surveying a diverse range of professionals in the academic and corporate sectors, this study assesses the awareness, attitudes, and institutional barriers to adopting CI practices and seeks to highlight key knowledge gaps and identify opportunities for targeted awareness, training, and investment. The results will inform policy and provide strategic recommendations for building a CI-conscious culture across sectors. https://zenodo.org/records/17681907