Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich claimed foreign spies are targeting America’s colleges and must be stopped before it’s too late.

“Our higher education system is one of our greatest assets. Yet we do too little to defend it,” Gingrich wrote in a Friday op-ed for Fox News. (RELATED: Newt Gingrich Predicts Political Surprise In 2018)

Gingrich said most international students come to American colleges to utilize the education system, but accused some of trying to exploit it for more sinister purposes.

“According to an advisory warning released by the FBI in 2011, foreign intelligence services target American universities to recruit students and faculty members to be agents of espionage and attempt to steal technical information and products,” the op-ed read. “The FBI also reported that certain foreign actors illicitly exploit the student visa program and use universities as hubs to spread false information and political propaganda.”

He also cited an incident in March that saw nine Iranians charged by the Department of Justice for conspiracy to commit cybertheft at 144 schools.

Gingrich claimed various countries around the world are looking to infiltrate America’s education system and said more policies must be created to “counteract this rising threat.”

“One path forward is the Stop Higher Education Espionage and Theft Act of 2018 (SHEET), which he introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in the Senate on May 22,” Gingrich wrote. “If passed, the SHEET Act will give the director of the FBI the authority to formally designate a foreign actor as a ‘foreign intelligence threat to higher education.'”

Gingrich urged Congress to pass the SHEET Act to allow colleges to redirect their focus towards shaping future leaders.

“Doing so will allow such institutions to continue to be worldwide leaders for discovering, challenging, and growing new students, faculty, researchers and ideas,” he concluded.

You can Follow Nick on Twitter

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.