Colleges and universities have always been considered a hot bed for foreign espionage. Universities are home to two elements that attract foreign spies – a vast government research and development effort (including a number of classified project) and idealistic young people low on cash. A new FBI video warns college studies of attempts to recruit American students abroad.
The film, which sounds like the kind of cheesy after-school special I would be forced to watch during middle school health classes, is titled “Game of Pawns: The Glenn Duffie Shriver Story.” It accounts the real-life story of Shriver, an American college graduate who was convicted of conspiracy to spy for China.
The 28-minute long film comes on the heels of Edward Snowden’s interview of Vladimir Putin, an interview which strengthened the argument that Snowden may have been in the pockets of Russian officials before he leaked classified information. If he wasn’t then, it appears increasingly likely that he is now under the guidance or direction of Russian intelligence.
“What Snowden has stolen and exposed has gone way, way beyond his professed concerns with so-called domestic surveillance programs,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in a January Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. “As a result, we’ve lost critical foreign intelligence collection sources, including some shared with us by valued partners.”
