Information security

State Dept. proposes foreign researcher restrictions over spy fears

In an attempt to safeguard US secrets, the State Department has proposed a rule limiting the range of subjects foreign students could research. Universities are opposed, arguing the rule would limit their access to the world’s brightest.

The proposal would require foreign students to get special licenses if they want to work on sensitive research projects, such those related to nuclear engineering, defense and satellite technology, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The Obama administration considers universities to be particularly vulnerable because of the open environment that they provide. In addition to military and strategic concerns, universities can be easy targets for those seeking to undermine the country’s economic edge through intellectual property theft.

Foreign students already have to deal with getting licenses for certain research classified as “technical,” and students from countries that have a strained relationship with the US – such as China, Iran and North Korea – are generally not approved, university officials told Reuters.

The new rule would expand the restrictions to include any project that private sponsors deem to be sensitive, by requiring something known as a “pre-publication review.”