Jane Edwards
Bill Wall, CEO of Accrete AI Government, said the Department of Defense, corporate contractors and startups should address the risks posed by foreign ownership, control or influence, or FOCI, to the defense industrial base and national security by leveraging artificial intelligence and big data analytics to improve due diligence capabilities.
“AI platforms capable of integrating human expertise with large-scale data analysis will be essential for identifying FOCI risks,” Wall wrote in a blog post published Tuesday.
He noted that such technologies could enable DOD and analysts to analyze large volumes of data to gain deeper insights into foreign connections, corporate structures and financial ties and detect hidden threats across the defense industrial base.
Strengthening Government-Industry Collaboration
In this piece, the chief executive highlighted the need for DOD and industry to be vigilant by promoting open discussion and education to identify and mitigate FOCI risks.
“Industry partners can provide solutions such as FOCI discovery tools, but more structured protocols are needed. Continuous vetting—rather than periodic reviews—should become standard practice, with AI and big data analytics playing key roles in identifying potential threats,” Wall noted.
He also called on the government to provide small defense contractors and startups with investigative tools and resources to conduct in-depth FOCI investigations to help protect the defense supply chain.
