America must protect these 5 technologies if it wants to remain a superpower, intelligence officials warn - CNBC

WASHINGTON – U.S. intelligence officials have issued a stark warning: America's status as a global superpower depends on maintaining a lead in five key technologies – and America's rivals are trying to steal every one of them.

Officials said they are concerned that foreign theft of American technologies could not only rob the United States of economic leadership in the key sectors, but could threaten the country's ability to even remain active in the industries at all.

The five technologies identified by intelligence officials are:

Officials cited legal and illegal activities, particularly those conducted by China, that have crippled competitiveness in sectors such as steel and solar panels. They also pointed to China's wipeout of the Australian rail industry as an example.

"We don't want what happened in those other industries to happen here," said Michael Orlando, acting director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, which falls under the Director of National Intelligence. When asked what the impact would be if the U.S. loses supremacy, he said: "It could be severe. We've got to focus on these industries because we can't afford to lose them."

In a new report, the NCSC wrote that "these sectors produce technologies that may determine whether America remains the world's leading superpower or is eclipsed by strategic competitors in the next few years."

In each area, officials said, adversary nations have used a blend of legal and illegal methods – ranging from hiring talent to mergers and acquisitions to hacking and old-fashioned spycraft – to steal and replicate American technology.