FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough and Southern Methodist University (SMU) Vice Provost for Research and Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Suku Nair announced their plans to exchange resources and information with components of the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub (TSTH), an economic and workforce development consortium led by SMU. Key stakeholders from both entities discussed the future of information and cybersecurity, insider threats, risk management strategies, and partnership with the FBI in a series of meetings.

“Bringing together partners across 29 counties in north Texas and southern Oklahoma, the TSTH is a significant innovation win for our region and also a significant target for some foreign government-sponsored programs that may aim to steal trade secrets, violate export control laws, or otherwise pilfer valuable intellectual property,” Yarbrough said.

“The TSTH team believes that protecting semiconductor supply chain integrity is extremely critical for economic and national security,” Dr. Nair explained. “As part of developing a risk mitigation and management strategy, the TSTH has teamed up with FBI in understanding both the insider and foreign threats and building resiliency against those threats.”

“By increasing communication and understanding at both the academic and law enforcement level, this partnership extends beyond a traditional law enforcement relationship,” Yarbrough said, adding that “the FBI will be able to provide transparent and timely intelligence to our academic partners within the TSTH so they can make informed decisions with consideration to national security risk. In turn, these entities can take proactive steps to better protect their institutions and intellectual property during this complex building phase.”

For related information, please visit:

• What We Investigate: Counterintelligence
• What We Investigate: Cyber
• FBI White Paper: “Higher Education and National Security” (PDF download)