This month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report assessing the Department of Defense’s (DOD) approach to identifying and securing critical technologies. While DOD has been operating programs to protect critical technologies for decades, the 2019 John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act required the Secretary of Defense to develop, maintain and update annually a list of acquisition programs, research and development initiatives, technologies, and manufacturing capabilities that are essential to the national security of the United States. This list is likely to inform DOD and interagency efforts to prevent the export, theft or counterfeiting of such capabilities by foreign adversaries and to help guide federal investment in future emerging technologies.
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