“The Counterintelligence Chief” – with FBI Assistant Director Alan Kohler

Summary

Alan Kohler (LinkedIn, Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the FBI’s counterintelligence division. He is a recipient of the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation. 

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

And much, much more …

Episode Notes

Beginning as a special agent in 1996, Alan Kohler’s extraordinary 28 year long career in the FBI has included serving on the 9/11 Evidence Response Team, supervising counterintelligence and cyber squads at the bustling New York Field Office, overseeing counterintelligence at the Washington Field Office, and time as an assistant legal attaché in London. Alan was named Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in April of 2020. 

This week on SpyCast, Alan joins Andrew for a conversation on all things counterintelligence. From learning how the FBI recruits foreign agents to breaking down what makes a successful counterintelligence operative, you won’t want to miss this fascinating conversation. 

And… 

In case you find ever find yourself picking up a suspiciously light coin, don’t hesitate to contact your local FBI Field Office. As Alan notes, conscientious citizens are the first line of defense for corporate espionage. 

Quote of the Week

“Nothing I do is going to make China go away, or their intent to do what they do is not going to go away. Russia is still going to have an intelligence service on Monday, no matter what I do on Friday. Our goal is to just continually slow them down while we continually protect the things that are letting us and our society move forward. We're pushing them back while we're also helping ourselves push forward.” – Alan Kohler.

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 14^th century English theologian. 

Resources 

*SURFACE SKIM*

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)

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]

*DEEPER DIVE*

Books

• The FBI Way, F. Figliuzzi (Custom House, 2021)
• To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence, J. Olson (Georgetown, 2019)
• Vaults, Mirrors, and Masks: Rediscovering U.S. Counterintelligence, J. Sims & B. Gerber (Georgetown, 2008)
• The Origins of FBI Counterintelligence, R. Batvinis (Kansas, 2007)
• The FBI: A History, R. Jefferys-Jones (Yale, 2007)
• Traitors Among Us: Inside the Spy Catcher’s World, S. Herrington (Mariner, 2000)

Articles

• A Navy nuclear engineer and his wife enter new guilty pleas in submarine-secrets case, NPR (2022) 
• An Alternative Framework for Agent Recruitment: From MICE TO RASCLS, R. Burkett, Studies in Intelligence (2013) 
• The 10 Commandments of Counterintelligence, J. Olson, Studies of Intelligence (2002)

Video

• Russian spies living among us: Inside the FBI's "Operation Ghost Stories,” CBS News (2021) 
• Operation Mincemeat, YouTube (2017) 
• FBI Linguists: What We Do and How to be Successful, YouTube (2016)

Audio

• The Case of the Hollow Nickel, S. Silverman, Useless Information Podcast (2022)

Primary Sources 

• FBI Most Wanted: Counterintelligence (2023)
• Worldwide Threats to the Homeland, C. Wray (2022) [Testimony]
• Former Twitter Employee Sentenced to 42 Months in Federal Prison for Acting as a Foreign Agent (2022) 
• Maryland Nuclear Engineer and Wife Sentenced for Espionage-Related Offenses (2022) 
• The Spy Who Turned Me, J. Matthews, The Wall Street Journal (2013)
• Behavioral Analysts, Inside the FBI (2011) 
• Operation Ghost Stories: Inside the Russian Spy Case, FBI (2011)

*Wildcard Resource*

• The Old Man 
• A new television series on FX that centers around a fugitive ex-CIA agent as he is hunted down by no other than the FBI’s Assistant Director for Counterintelligence. Unfortunately, Alan Kohler does NOT star in the show!