Testimony from President Biden’s nominee for the key post of undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security is shedding some light on one of the Pentagon’s most closely guarded secrets — the nation’s approach to countering foreign spies.

Tonya P. Wilkerson, the nominee for the security post, revealed in written responses to questions posed by the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Pentagon has adopted a new strategy calling for the use of offensive action to thwart spies.

As a result of a 2021 strategy, “the department is fundamentally shifting its [counterintelligence] activities to a more offensive posture, accepting greater risk with our operational, intelligence, security and law enforcement partners to more effectively confront advanced, persistent foreign intelligence threats to America’s military advantage,” she stated in written testimony made public July 11.

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Counterintelligence activities are among the most secret U.S. intelligence operations, and for decades involved mostly passive and defensive-oriented methods.

Efforts to employ more aggressive strategic offensive operations, such as the greater targeting of foreign spy services, increased use of double agents and seeking more in-place intelligence defectors had long been opposed by many intelligence community leaders as too risky and potentially counterproductive for U.S. spying efforts, according to former U.S. counterintelligence officials.

As a result, a string of foreign spies for decades successfully penetrated nearly all U.S. intelligence agencies and many other government agencies and remained undetected for long periods.

At the Pentagon, those spies included Ana Montes, a senior Defense Intelligence Agency official who gave secrets to Cuba for more than a decade, and Ronald N. Montaperto, a DIA official convicted of giving secret documents to two Chinese military agents.

Ms. Wilkerson, currently deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, said spies from China, Russia and Iran pose the most serious counterintelligence threats.

The three nations’ intelligence operatives “are more aggressive and more capable in their nefarious activity than ever before,” she stated.

“These nations seek to challenge America’s military advantage, employing a growing range of tactics, techniques and procedures to advance their interests and to harm the United States,” Ms. Wilkerson stated. “These nations will persist with sophisticated foreign intelligence operations below the level of armed conflict using coercion, subversion, malign influence, disinformation, cyber and economic espionage, traditional spies, and non-traditional collectors.”

Ms. Wilkerson also said if confirmed for the position she will join the joint FBI-Pentagon-led National Counterintelligence Task Force.