Tag: Espionage and Intelligence Services

In Risky Hunt for Secrets, U.S. and China Expand Global Spy Operations

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in risky hunt for secrets u s and china expand global spy operations

As China’s spy balloon drifted across the continental United States in February, American intelligence agencies learned that President Xi Jinping of China had become enraged with senior Chinese military generals. The spy agencies had been trying to understand what Mr. Xi knew and what actions he would take as the balloon, originally aimed at U.S. military bases in Guam and Hawaii, was blown off course. Mr. Xi was not opposed to risky spying operations against the United States, but American intelligence agencies concluded that the People’s Liberation Army had kept…

China Has Paused Its Spy Balloon Operations, U.S. Officials Say

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china has paused its spy balloon operations u s officials say

American officials said on Friday that China had paused its spy balloon operations after one of the craft floated across much of the United States early this year and was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, setting off a diplomatic crisis between the rival powers. The officials said that they did not know how long the pause would last, but that given the investments the Chinese government had made in the balloon program, Beijing was likely to restart it. The spy balloon that crossed the United States was…

What I’m Reading: Eclectic Edition

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what im reading eclectic edition

Some weeks, as I try to chase down a particular idea or understand a particular event, my reading lists have clear themes: what to read to understand X; three books on Y. This is … not one of those weeks. Instead, I’ve been feeling intellectual entropy, pinging from one topic to another. I’ve decided to lean into it, letting my brain range freely and trusting that it will take me somewhere interesting. I’m pleased with the results: a fascinating new book on China, a new political science paper that explains…

China to Its People: Spies Are Everywhere, Help Us Catch Them

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china to its people spies are everywhere help us catch them

Beijing sees forces bent on weakening it everywhere: embedded in multinational companies, infiltrating social media, circling naïve students. And it wants its people to see them, too. Chinese universities require faculty to take courses on protecting state secrets, even in departments like veterinary medicine. A kindergarten in the eastern city of Tianjin organized a meeting to teach staffers how to “understand and use” China’s anti-espionage law. China’s Ministry of State Security, a usually covert department that oversees the secret police and intelligence services, has even opened its first social media…

How Montana’s Attorney General Made Banning TikTok a Top Priority

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how montanas attorney general made banning tiktok a top priority

On a recent summer day, Austin Knudsen, Montana’s attorney general, drove his red Buick from Helena, the state’s capital, to Boulder, a tiny town about a half-hour away whose main claim to fame is that it’s home to the state’s highway border patrol. The road was quiet, flanked by the sort of sprawling pastures and expansive landscapes that give Montana its nickname of Big Sky Country. When Mr. Knudsen visits the highway patrol, which is under his purview, he swears by the steak and burgers at the Windsor, a local…

Intelligence Agencies Warn Foreign Spies Are Targeting U.S. Space Companies

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intelligence agencies warn foreign spies are targeting u s space companies

Chinese and Russian intelligence agencies are targeting American private space companies, attempting to steal critical technologies and preparing cyberattacks aimed at degrading U.S. satellite capabilities during a conflict or emergency, according to a new warning by American intelligence agencies. The National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the F.B.I. and the Air Force issued a new advisory to American companies Friday morning. The broad warning to industry said that foreign intelligence services could be targeting space firms, their employees and the contractors that serve those companies. Space companies’ data and intellectual property…

Biden Describes China as a Time Bomb Over Economic Problems

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biden describes china as a time bomb over economic problems

President Biden warned on Thursday that China’s struggles with high unemployment and an aging work force make the country a “ticking time bomb” at the heart of the world economy and a potential threat to other nations. “When bad folks have problems, they do bad things,” the president told a group of donors at a fund-raiser in Park City, Utah. Mr. Biden’s comments are the latest example of the president’s willingness to criticize China — often during fund-raising events with contributors to his presidential campaign — even as his administration…

Biden Orders Ban on U.S. Investments in China’s Sensitive High-Tech Industries

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biden orders ban on u s investments in chinas sensitive high tech industries

President Biden escalated his confrontation with China on Wednesday by signing an executive order banning American investments in key technology industries that could be used to enhance Beijing’s military capabilities, the latest in a series of moves putting further distance between the world’s two largest economies. The order will prohibit venture capital and private equity firms from pumping money into Chinese efforts to develop semiconductors and other microelectronics, quantum computers and certain artificial intelligence applications. Administration officials stressed that the move was tailored to guard national security, but China is…

Two U.S. Navy Sailors Charged With Helping Chinese

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two u s navy sailors charged with helping chinese

Two Navy sailors in Southern California were arrested and accused of providing military secrets and sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers, according to a pair of federal indictments unsealed on Thursday. Jinchao Wei, known as Patrick Wei, 22, was charged with spying for the Chinese under the Espionage Act. Mr. Wei serves aboard the Essex, an amphibious assault ship moored at Naval Base San Diego, which is the home of the Pacific Fleet. As a machinist’s mate, investigators said, he had clearance that gave him access to sensitive national security…

U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt American Military Operations

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u s hunts chinese malware that could disrupt american military operations

The Biden administration is hunting for malicious computer code it believes China has hidden deep inside the networks controlling power grids, communications systems and water supplies that feed military bases in the United States and around the world, according to American military, intelligence and national security officials. The discovery of the malware has raised fears that Chinese hackers, probably working for the People’s Liberation Army, have inserted code designed to disrupt U.S. military operations in the event of a conflict, including if Beijing moves against Taiwan in coming years. The…