FBI Warns of Spies Disguised as Foreign Engineers

Keep a close eye on those H1-B hires. The FBI says foreign-born, American-educated engineers might be little more than shifty-eyed spies trying to purloin our country's most valuable trade or military secrets. The FBI listed "students and educators" as one of the favorite disguises used by foreign agents. Two of the four possible "collection strategies" the FBI said spies use to get their hands on American technology secrets are:

"You hire a foreign-born engineer who has been educated in this country. Over a 10-15 year period, she rises to mid-level management. Then, she returns to her home country—where she gets paid by that government to set up a business that competes with yours.

A series of university students and professors from overseas take jobs in research labs on campus and get involved in related military projects. Individually, they learn only bits and pieces. But collectively, when they pass that information back to their home country, it paints a telling picture of our country’s defense initiatives."

To see the full list of espionage warnings, go here. Given the current brouhaha over
H1-B visas, we'll let you determine how appropriate this kind of message is right now.