Season 1 · Episode 574
“The Counterintelligence Chief” – with FBI Assistant Director Alan Kohler
February 14, 20231h 9m
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Show Notes
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.