A new Disruptive Technology Strike Force announced Feb. 16 will focus on investigating and prosecuting criminal violations of export laws and enhancing the administrative enforcement of U.S. export controls.
According to a joint press release, end-users of national security concern (e.g., China and Russia) are seeking technologies such as those related to supercomputing and exascale computing, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing equipment and materials, quantum computing, and biosciences. Although technologies in these fields have important commercial uses, they can also threaten U.S. national security when used by adversaries for disruptive purposes, such as improving calculations in weapons design and testing, increasing the speed and accuracy of military or intelligence decision-making, and breaking or developing unbreakable encryption algorithms that protect sensitive communications and classified information.
The new initiative will “attack tomorrow’s national security threats today,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “We will use intelligence and data analytics to target illicit actors, enhance public-private partnerships to harden supply chains, and identify early warning of threats to our critical assets, like semiconductors. Our goal is simple but essential – to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon our best technology.”
The press release states that in addition to enforcing export controls and prosecuting criminal violations the strike force will work to foster partnerships with the private sector, coordinate law enforcement actions and disruption strategies internationally, utilize advanced data analytics and all-source intelligence to develop and build investigations, conduct regular trainings for field offices, and strengthen connectivity with the intelligence community.
The strike force will be led by the DOJ’s National Security Division and the DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security. Other agencies to be involved include the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations. The strike force will operate in 12 metropolitan regions with oversight and support from the local U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Jose, Phoenix, Portland, and Washington, D.C.
For more information on export controls and how to ensure compliance, please contact attorney Kristine Pirnia at (202) 730-4964 or via email.
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