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US: FBI issues study abroad warning

The FBI has issued a warning to US students studying abroad of the dangers of being targeted by foreign intelligence recruiters and produced a slick video dramatising the real-life case of a US student who was wooed by Chinese intelligence officers while studying abroad.

In the video, an actor playing Glenn Duffie Shriver is wooed by counter intelligence officers working for the Chinese government

"Just one student could cause substantial damage to US national security if he or she were hired by the United States government"

On its website, the agency has posted the 30-minute video as well as information on how students are targeted and tips of what they can do to protect themselves abroad.

A spokesperson for the FBI said that the agency has seen an increase in the number of students targeted overseas but the exact number is classified. “We know from intelligence reporting that our foreign adversaries are very interested in what these students may be studying and also what they may be doing when they return to the United States,” she told The PIE News.

“The FBI believes that even if foreign intelligence services recruited just one student, this student could cause substantial damage to US national security if he or she were hired by the USG [United States government].”

“We know from intelligence reporting that our foreign adversaries are very interested in what these students may be studying”

On the website, the FBI recognises that study abroad “provides students with tremendous cultural opportunities and can equip them with specialised language, technical and leadership skills”.

But it also says that students are a “vulnerable target for recruitment by foreign intelligence officers whose long-term goal is to gain access to sensitive or classified US information”.

The video, Game of Pawns: The Glenn Duffie Shriver Story, is a dramatisation based on the real case of Glenn Duffie Shriver, a student from Michigan studying in China who was sentenced to federal prison after being courted by Chinese intelligence officers, receiving money from them and applying for a role with the CIA.

It shows how Shriver was subtly recruited over time by the Chinese government to hopefully provide classified information in exchange for money.

In his defense, Shriver claimed he was naive to the implications of his actions – prompting the FBI to inform students of consequences of espionage activities.

In its efforts, the FBI also provides information on how students can protect themselves abroad including “being sceptical of money-for-nothing offers that seem too good to be true” and minimising the personal information students reveal about themselves on social media.

“Above all, keep your awareness level up at all times,” it warns.

IIE’s Open Doors data shows that 280,000 US students studied abroad last year, most studying in Europe and China.

The FBI spokesperson said that no particular countries have been flagged as higher risk but added that the FBI “does not want students to think if they go to a European country that they may be safer from being approached than if they were in an East Asian country”.

“A foreign intelligence officer from a third country can target a student for recruitment in a different host country”

“Students should be aware that a foreign intelligence officer from a third country can target a student for recruitment in a different host country.”

Many universities across the country have allowed the FBI to conduct in-person briefings to groups of students and staff.

And NAFSA, Association of International Educators, has issued guidance for its members on how to respond to the video including taking into consideration if the institution’s geographic location or academic focus put its students at risk for recruitment.

However one source told The PIE News that the response from the overall education community is that the film could be considered as “alarmist”.

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