106 Trade Secret Theft, Industrial Espionage, and the China Threat
HUMINT
Human intelligence is derived from human sources, that is, people, either acting on their own, or
being directed by someone else. To the public, HUMINT remains synonymous with espionage and
clandestine activities, yet, in reality, most HUMINT collection is performed by overt collectors
such as diplomats and military attaches around the world. China may be the exception to this, as
they employ, in one fashion or another, a vast amount of HUMINT individuals, of which a very
small portion (probably anywhere from 5% to 15%) are professionals. The rest come from business
travelers, students studying abroad, “overseas” Chinese, and visitors making trips to the United
States. ...