{"id":49845,"date":"2026-08-22T12:05:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T19:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49845"},"modified":"2026-08-22T12:05:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T19:05:36","slug":"pentagon-orders-research-security-audits-of-uc-berkeley-and-29-u-s-institutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/22\/pentagon-orders-research-security-audits-of-uc-berkeley-and-29-u-s-institutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon orders \u2018research security audits\u2019 of UC Berkeley and 29 U.S. institutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Francis%2C%20Luo\">Francis Luo | Staff<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aug 21, 2026 (DailyCal.org)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/dailycal.org\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/5\/b4\/5b447627-3fd4-438c-b707-22d68332da06\/6a87e8100ba30.image.jpg?resize=400%2C258\" alt=\"audit_U.S. Secretary of War_Cc.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The U.S. Department of Defense said its audit on domestic institutions\u2019 foreign collaborations is \u201cto protect American taxpayer-funded research investments\u201d from unauthorized foreign exploitation.&nbsp;(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/secdef\/55409923151\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Photo<\/a>&nbsp;by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/secdef\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Secretary of War<\/a>&nbsp;under&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PDM 1.0<\/a>.)&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The U.S. Department of Defense has ordered a \u201cresearch security audit\u201d of UC Berkeley and 29 other academic institutions, demanding an immediate review of foreign academic, financial and research collaborations, according to a U.S. official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a press release, the DOD said failure to comply with the audit before Aug. 31 could mean losing federal research funding in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Pentagon said its aim is \u201cto protect American taxpayer-funded research investments from unauthorized technology transfer, intellectual property theft and adversarial exploitation.\u201d Universities have been directed to audit foreign collaborations, assess exposure of sensitive research and terminate existing partnerships with \u201cproblematic\u201d institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Fox News \u2014 who received the full list from a U.S. official \u2014 the Pentagon also issued audit notifications to UC San Diego and UCLA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Pentagon claims the 30 universities listed are collaborating with \u201cforeign institutions engaging in problematic activities\u201d in countries such as China, Russia and Iran. The audit also targets universities with ties to \u201corganizations associated with rebranded Confucius Institutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a member of the (UC) Berkeley faculty, I think this particular assertion that Berkeley has done anything wrong is nonsense,\u201d said Goldman School of Public Policy professor Andrew W. Reddie. Reddie is the founder and faculty director of the UC Berkeley Risk and Security Lab, which researches technology and security as it relates to global policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reddie pointed out that federal funding has been important in making the United States a \u201cbehemoth\u201d of innovation, crediting it with creating technologies such as the gene-editing tool CRISPR and large language models, both of which have close ties to campus.<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/e-11190.adzerk.net\/r?e=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&amp;s=qaJleN3if3E87nNTQMk-RN28cwg\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUniversities are critical partners in executing a wide range of Department of War research programs, and the Department must therefore ensure that our research investments are well protected from foreign exploitation,\u201d said Joseph Jewell, assistant secretary of war for science and technology, in the press release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The move comes as the federal government has become increasingly critical of foreign academic collaborations nationwide, especially of those with China. In August, UC Berkeley&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus\/uc-berkeley-disputes-224m-chinese-funding-claim-by-department-of-education\/article_6fede9b5-68e0-417f-9da1-3485b31049da.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disputed<\/a>&nbsp;a U.S. Department of Education dashboard claiming campus had received $224.5 million in gifts and contracts from Chinese sources over the past 25 years. Federal concerns about Chinese researchers led to a researcher being&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus\/federal-fears-of-chinese-academic-espionage-jeopardize-berkeley-lab-postdoc-s-visa\/article_fb4c3220-7c2c-4f2d-98a9-d134720235bb.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fired<\/a>&nbsp;from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory last fall. Campus also ended a decade-long relationship with China\u2019s Tsinghua University in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe trouble is that, at least from this administration\u2019s perspective, an overwhelming amount of the good ideas are emanating from the U.S. and then escaping the U.S.\u2019s clutches,\u201d Reddie said. \u201cBut there\u2019s a lot that the U.S. gains from the broader international ecosystem of science and innovation, and indeed much of our science and innovation has been useful for the globe at large.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof declined to comment on the audit order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Department of Defense has ordered a \u201cresearch security audit\u201d of UC Berkeley and 29 other academic institutions, demanding an immediate review of foreign academic, financial and research collaborations, according to a U.S. official. In a press release, the DOD said failure to comply with the audit before Aug&#8230;. <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/22\/pentagon-orders-research-security-audits-of-uc-berkeley-and-29-u-s-institutions\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1879],"tags":[660,1855],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49845"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49845"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49846,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49845\/revisions\/49846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}