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A former CIA intelligence officer has warned that executives at major American technology companies may underestimate the risks posed by foreign intelligence operations, as Nvidia investigates whether its chief executive, Jensen Huang, was targeted in a suspected espionage effort.

According to Business Insider, Michele Rigby Assad, a former undercover CIA officer who now advises businesses on counterintelligence threats, said companies possessing strategically important technologies must strengthen their awareness of foreign intelligence activities.

"It takes a disaster for people to realize that a little bit of training could have mitigated the risk," Assad told the publication.

Assad served in the CIA between 2002 and 2012, undertaking overseas assignments involving counterterrorism and counterintelligence. She currently works as a corporate counterintelligence trainer and international security consultant, including on matters involving alleged Chinese intelligence operations in Florida.

Her remarks come amid reports that Nvidia's board is examining whether Huang may have been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.

The investigation has attracted attention because of Nvidia's central position in the global artificial intelligence industry and the intensifying technological competition between Washington and Beijing.

Assad cautioned that executives at strategically important companies may fail to recognise how personal relationships could potentially be exploited for intelligence-gathering purposes.

Speaking to Business Insider in September, she warned that there were "far more Chinese operations going on against us in the United States" than the FBI had sufficient personnel to investigate.

In a subsequent interview on Tuesday, Assad said reports that Huang may have been targeted were unsurprising given Nvidia's strategic importance in the US-China competition over advanced artificial intelligence technologies.

However, she did not evaluate the evidence surrounding Nvidia's internal investigation or make claims about Huang's knowledge of any suspected intelligence activity.

FBI warnings highlight broader concerns over industrial espionage

American intelligence and law enforcement agencies have repeatedly warned that Chinese intelligence services seek access to sensitive technologies and commercially valuable information held by US companies.

In 2020, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that the bureau was opening a new China-related counterintelligence investigation approximately every 10 hours.

At the time, he said nearly half of the FBI's roughly 5,000 active counterintelligence investigations involved China.

More recently, the FBI reported facilitating 62 removals of foreign intelligence threats through its China-related programme this year.

The concerns have become particularly significant for companies involved in artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors and other technologies subject to US export restrictions.

Separately, Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer, has faced scrutiny over allegations that it may have helped Chinese customers obtain advanced semiconductor chips restricted under American export controls.

Nvidia, however, has stated that it has no reason to believe national security information or company secrets were compromised. The company also said it found no evidence that Megaspeed illegally transferred its products.

Nvidia has not stated that Huang disclosed confidential company information or that Alice Huang participated in any foreign intelligence operation.

China has denied the espionage allegations.