Senator Banks Urges BIS to Modernize Technology to Strengthen Export Control Enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) sent a letter to the Department of Commerce encouraging the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to strengthen export control enforcement by adopting modern commercial technology, data, and open-source intelligence tools.

See the full letter here or read below:

Dear Under Secretary Kessler:

I am writing to ask about plans at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to leverage commercially available software, datasets, and open-source intelligence tools to strengthen export control enforcement. Historically, BIS' critical mission has been impeded by its antiquated core technologies, software, and databases. BIS's underlying access to data, software, and open-source intelligence is vital to the agency's performance: it allows BIS agents and analysts to focus on actual export control enforcement instead of being buried in paperwork.

The Trump Administration has rightly brought advanced technology and skilled technologists into government, including through the United States Tech Force. We now have the opportunity to ensure that BIS has access to high-quality technology to fulfill its mission.

BIS lacks access to key commercial and government data needed for effective export control enforcement. One significant gap is BIS's lack of access to commercial teardown intelligence on AI chips. For example, Reuters reported that BIS learned of Huawei's arrangement to obtain millions of TSMC logic dies through Sophgo only after a teardown intelligence firm uncovered it.^[1] BIS did not identify the apparent violation itself; it learned of it only after the teardown intelligence firm alerted TSMC, which then notified BIS. This example highlights a broader challenge: BIS lacks timely access to some of the most valuable commercial data relevant to export control enforcement. BIS could engage providers of commercial teardown intelligence to help trace adversaries' chips and detect potential violations earlier, including in cases like Sophgo.

BIS has an opportunity to make greater use of commercially available software tools. Such tools can help investigators and analysts access, integrate, and analyze open-source intelligence, market data, trade data, corporate data, and other commercially available information relevant to export control enforcement. The private sector has developed a range of tools that can help identify suspicious procurement networks, map corporate relationships, flag anomalies, and surface potential evasion activity more quickly than government systems alone.

BIS has a timely opportunity to close these gaps, harness new technology, and become more efficient. With this in mind, I request a staff-level briefing to discuss the following topics:

1. What are your current plans to improve BIS software and incorporate new technologies to make BIS more efficient?
2. What commercially available investigative, open-source intelligence, and data-analysis software tools is BIS currently using to support export control enforcement?
3. What plans does BIS have to procure additional commercially available investigative, open-source intelligence, and data-analysis software tools to strengthen export control enforcement?
4. Who within BIS is responsible for leading open-source software and data modernization efforts?
5. Does BIS plan to contract with commercial providers of teardown intelligence or other specialized commercial data sources relevant to export control enforcement?
6. What additional resources or authorities from Congress would help BIS accelerate adoption of commercially available software, data, or open-source intelligence tools?

BIS is a critical national security agency that deserves to be empowered with the best technology. I encourage you to explore ways to make BIS more efficient by investing into new sources of data and open-source software, and I look forward to supporting you in this critical work.

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