Russian efforts to obtain secrets on US decision-making have reached levels not seen since the Cold War, a top US spy official said today.
Joel Brenner of the Bush administration's National Counterintelligence Executive said a new assault by Moscow is intent on gaining insights into "the upper echelon of US decision-making" rather than stealing technology secrets.
"The Russians are back to Cold War levels in their efforts against the United States," he said in a speech to the American Bar Association.
Mr Brenner did not provide details about suspected operations. Sensitive counterintelligence activities are classified.
But he said Moscow appears less interested in US commercial and military technology than other countries including China, which US officials have described as the greatest counterintelligence threat facing the United States.
Mr Brenner's remarks come at a time when Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have become more openly confrontational about US policy such as Washington's plan to deploy a missile defence system in Eastern Europe.
Mr Putin, a former KGB official, accused the United States of trying to dominate the world in a February speech.
US officials and independent analysts believe Russia is determined to regain the superpower status it enjoyed during the Cold War era, largely through its oil wealth and the reconstitution of its military and intelligence capabilities.
Mr McConnell also warned the Senate last month that Russia was taking a step backward in its democratic progress and could be heading for a controlled succession to Mr Putin. Moscow responded by describing his remarks as "outdated assumptions." The
US government has suffered several embarrassing security breaches at the hands of Russian and Soviet intelligence moles, including former CIA case officer Aldrich Ames and former FBI agent Robert Hanssen.
Mr Brenner said Mr Ames provided the Soviets with enough information about US officials to "decapitate" America's leadership in the event of war.
But Moscow intelligence does not now appear interested in posing a physical threat to American leaders. "It's not a strike threat they're after. I don't want to give that impression," Mr Brenner said.