Securing the Defense Industrial Base: Cross-Country Conversations with Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (Chicago)

Help shape efforts to secure the defense industrial base of the future with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) and BENS. Following our first engagement in Boston, we’re continuing this national conversation series with the next engagement in Chicago.

DCSA Director Cattler is seeking your insights as BENS members – and seasoned industry leaders – on how to better integrate security processes into the work of the defense industrial base and protect U.S. defense technology and innovation.

As players in this sector, your expertise is invaluable to inform how the Department of Defense can best work with industry to protect against hostile threats to the industry itself.

This conversation will focus on DCSA’s soon-to-be-released 2025 strategic plan, where Director Cattler will focus on key questions like:

• How would you characterize the threat environment in your industry and associated supply chains?
• How does your industry navigate the various federal agencies, authorities, and regulations involved in securing the industrial base? What is the threshold between it being onerous vs. supportive?
• What actions would help strengthen the public-private partnership that is needed to secure your industry as the DOD seeks to expand the industrial base?

Together, we can build a more resilient and responsive defense industrial base.