Defense Department Under Secretary for Research and Engineering Michael D. Griffin sent a letter to the research community to outline the current rising tensions and fears of potential espionage, intellectual property theft, and threats to academic integrity posed by foreign powers and steps the department has taken to address these threats. The letter highlights the activities of AAU, ACE, APLU, and others, and calls upon the academic community to continue to work with the department to develop and implement best practices to protect American innovation while maintaining the free and open exchange of ideas.