International Terrorism (IT)

As the lead counterintelligence agency within the U.S. Intelligence community, the FBI has the principal authority to conduct and coordinate counterintelligence investigations and operations within the United States. Supported by other U.S. agencies, as needed, the FBI also conducts espionage investigations anywhere in the world when the subject of the investigation is a U.S. person and is not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense Uniform Code of Military Justice.

While the FBI still focuses on certain foreign powers that pose a threat to U.S. national security, it also defines its counterintelligence mission in terms of issue threats as well. The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 made espionage a federal felony punishable by 15 years imprisonment of anyone who delivers or steals a trade secret on behalf of a foreign power. If a foreign power is not involved, a ten year felony still applies. Under the statute, a trade secret can be defined as reasonably protected proprietary information that has independent value to its rightful possessor.

The Memphis Division is also actively involved in a Bureau- wide program called Awareness of National Security Issues and Responses (ANSIR).  Through this program, Agents provide
participating corporate security officers with unclassified
national security threat and warning information that may affect their businesses.