WASHINGTON (TNND) — A top U.S. official is warning of a major increase in foreign spies trying to steal American information. The nation's Chief Counterintelligence Officer Mike Casey said an increasing number of these spies are trying to secretly infiltrate U.S. tech companies.

Bill Rials, an expert in information technology said this warning by Casey is meant to increase awareness about what's going on.

"There has been a large uptick of foreign adversaries that are enhancing their efforts to attack the U.S. institutions," Rials said.

According to Casey, the United States economy and national security could be at risk, with China, in particular, going after these technologies.

To weaken our, the United States technological, economic, and security advancements over time," said Rials.

Rials said one group becoming targets for these spies is startups looking for investors and partners.

"The goal for most startups is to innovate fast. Innovate rapidly. New things tomorrow and sometimes security is still thought of but it's secondary to innovation," said Rials.

Kevan Jacobson, a retired military and political science professor said this increase in foreign spies isn't all that surprising. For a long time, China has been working to collect U.S. information.

They're very active in their efforts to gather as much intelligence as they can, across the instruments of national power," Jacobson said.

Which is why he believes as more new companies enter the market, spies will follow.

"As we immerse ourselves even deeper into a cyber world, cyber universe, they're going to be right along with us," said Jacobson.

Earlier this week, the Five Eyes alliance (United States, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada) launched online portals, with information to help startups protect their companies.