From the Vault: “The Counterintelligence Chief” – with FBI Assistant Director Alan Kohler
· 1 h 11 min · Episode 574
Episode From the Vault: “The Counterintelligence Chief” – with FBI Assistant Director Alan Kohler
Summary
Alan Kohler joins Andrew to discuss the FBI’s counterintelligence division. He is a recipient of the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation.
***FULL SHOWNOTES AVAILABLE HERE***
What You’ll Learn Intelligence
-Counterintelligence vs. Counterespionage
-How the FBI recruit’s foreign agents
-Ideological motivations behind spying
-Effect of technology on counterintelligence
Reflections
-Staying grounded under pressure
-The value of creativity
Notes
Alan Kohler (LinkedIn, Website) has been the FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence since 2020. Alan and Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) talk all things counterintelligence.
***FULL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE***
*SpyCasts*
-The FBI & Cyber with Cyber Division Chief Bryan Vorndran, Part 1 (2022)
-The FBI & Cyber with Cyber Division Chief Bryan Vorndran, Part 2 (2022)
-My Global Career as a Female FBI Agent with Kathy Stearman (2021)
-The FBI Way with Counterintelligence Spy Chief Frank Figliuzzi (2021)
***FULL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE***
*Beginner Resources*
-What We Investigate, FBI (n.d.) [webpage]
-FAQ’S, FBI (n.d.) [webpage]
-US Opens Counterintelligence Investigation into China Every 12 Hours (Dir. Wray), MSNBC (2022) [video]
-What We Know About China’s Spy Agency, Bloomberg Originals (2019) [video]
-Hollow Nickel/Rudolf Abel, FBI (n.d.) [Article]
-NCSC Mission, Vision, and Goals, ODNI (n.d.) [Website]
Glossary:
-Counterintelligence: Information gathered, and activities conducted to identify, deceive, exploit, disrupt, or protect against espionage or other intelligence activities
-FBI Attaché: a special agent assigned to a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas to liaise with local law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They pursue terrorist, intelligence, and criminal threats with international dimensions.
-Occam’s Razor: a rule of thumb theory that states when you are faced with competing explanations for the same phenomenon, the simplest one is probably the correct one. Attributed to William of Ockham, a 14th century English theologian.
***FULL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE***
Links in the notes 15
- https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/spycast/574/notes
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanekohlerjr/
- https://www.fbi.gov/about/leadership-and-structure/fbi-executives/kohler
- https://twitter.com/spyhistorian
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-hammond-09344936/
- https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/spycast/565/notes
- https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/spycast/566/notes
- https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/spycast/516/notes
- https://thecyberwire.com/podcasts/spycast/479/notes
- https://www.fbi.gov/investigate#:~:text=The%2520FBI%252C%2520the%2520lead%2520agency,access%2520to%2520clinic%2520entrances%2520violations.
- https://www.fbi.gov/about/faqs
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqsVHyt06fg
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l6N1XdtUBM&t=135s
- https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/hollow-nickel-rudolph-abel
- https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-who-we-are/ncsc-mission-vision
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