MI5 head warns of 'epic scale' of Chinese espionage [20,000+ UK people approached to spy]

[Hamartia Antidote]

MI5 head warns of 'epic scale' of Chinese espionage

Tens of thousands of British businesses are warned of the risk of having their innovation stolen.

www.bbc.com

More than 20,000 people in the UK have now been approached covertly online by Chinese spies, the head of MI5 said.

It comes amid a new warning to tens of thousands of British businesses of the risk of having their innovation stolen.
Ken McCallum was speaking to the BBC at an unprecedented public appearance of the security chiefs of the Five Eyes alliance in California.

The heads of US, UK, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand security agencies appeared together.

They did so for the first time to warn of commercial secrets being obtained by China.
Stanford University in California was chosen as the venue for the first public meeting because it lies in the heart of Silicon Valley. In both public statements and a closed session with entrepreneurs and investors, security chiefs warned that cutting-edge research is being stolen.

"We have seen a sustained campaign on a pretty epic scale," Mr McCallum told the BBC in an interview during the event.

In the past, MI5 focused on protecting government secrets from foreign spies but now the fear is that innovation is often stolen from small companies, start-ups and researchers who may not previously have worried about security.
"If you're working today at the cutting edge of technology then geopolitics is interested in you, even if you're not interested in geopolitics," Mr McCallum said.
MI5 is trying to warn tens of thousands of UK companies who are potentially at risk, and doing so requires the security service to go public in a way it has not done before.
Mr McCallum said that MI5 had now seen suspected Chinese agents approach over 20,000 people in the UK over professional networking sites like LinkedIn, in order to try to cultivate them to provide sensitive information, double the previously reported figure.

In the last year, MI5 has also seen more than 20 instances of Chinese companies considering or actively trying to gain access to sensitive technology developed by UK companies and universities through investments or other means where the full role of China is hidden, often through complicated company structures.

That has included at least two Chinese companies seeking to avoid the scrutiny required under law to access sensitive technology of UK companies undetected.
Another Chinese company is believed to have acquired stolen research data from a top UK university. And there are thought to be attempts to bypass and undermine the management and regulatory controls at another two top institutions in order to access and influence cutting-edge research.
MI5 and its allies also disrupted the acquisition of a sensitive UK tech company itself linked to UK military supply chains and the supply chains of other major western commercial companies. China has consistently denied accusations of espionage and wrong-doing.

The consequences of research being stolen in cutting-edge fields like Artificial Intelligence are not just for a company's profitability but also for the future of western countries, the head of MI5 warned.
"These technologies are at a historic moment where they are beginning to change our world in some pretty fundamental ways," Mr McCallum told the BBC.
"And we know that authoritarian states are laser-focused on the opportunities that these technologies may present for them."

AI, in addition to the data collected by China, could even offer the chance to interfere with politics in a far more effective way, he warned.
Concerns over China were echoed by other members of the Five Eyes alliance.

"China has made economic espionage and stealing others' work and ideas a central component of its national strategy and that espionage is at the expense of innovators in all five of our countries," FBI Director Chris Wray told journalists.
"That threat has only gotten more dangerous and more insidious in recent years."

He said there were more than 2,000 current FBI investigations linked to China and that at one point his organisation was opening a new investigation every 12 hours.

 

[TheSolution]

China is unstoppable. I feel that the western world just doesn't have the stomach to truly contain it. The countries have become rotten from within in various ways and the people no longer buy the state peddled propaganda.

This is more of a waiting game for China, no direct confrontation, focus on domestic development, keep doing what you are doing.

 

[GreatHanWarrior]

MI5 head warns of 'epic scale' of Chinese espionage

Tens of thousands of British businesses are warned of the risk of having their innovation stolen.

www.bbc.com

More than 20,000 people in the UK have now been approached covertly online by Chinese spies, the head of MI5 said.

It comes amid a new warning to tens of thousands of British businesses of the risk of having their innovation stolen.
Ken McCallum was speaking to the BBC at an unprecedented public appearance of the security chiefs of the Five Eyes alliance in California.

The heads of US, UK, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand security agencies appeared together.

They did so for the first time to warn of commercial secrets being obtained by China.
Stanford University in California was chosen as the venue for the first public meeting because it lies in the heart of Silicon Valley. In both public statements and a closed session with entrepreneurs and investors, security chiefs warned that cutting-edge research is being stolen.

"We have seen a sustained campaign on a pretty epic scale," Mr McCallum told the BBC in an interview during the event.

In the past, MI5 focused on protecting government secrets from foreign spies but now the fear is that innovation is often stolen from small companies, start-ups and researchers who may not previously have worried about security.
"If you're working today at the cutting edge of technology then geopolitics is interested in you, even if you're not interested in geopolitics," Mr McCallum said.
MI5 is trying to warn tens of thousands of UK companies who are potentially at risk, and doing so requires the security service to go public in a way it has not done before.
Mr McCallum said that MI5 had now seen suspected Chinese agents approach over 20,000 people in the UK over professional networking sites like LinkedIn, in order to try to cultivate them to provide sensitive information, double the previously reported figure.

In the last year, MI5 has also seen more than 20 instances of Chinese companies considering or actively trying to gain access to sensitive technology developed by UK companies and universities through investments or other means where the full role of China is hidden, often through complicated company structures.

That has included at least two Chinese companies seeking to avoid the scrutiny required under law to access sensitive technology of UK companies undetected.
Another Chinese company is believed to have acquired stolen research data from a top UK university. And there are thought to be attempts to bypass and undermine the management and regulatory controls at another two top institutions in order to access and influence cutting-edge research.
MI5 and its allies also disrupted the acquisition of a sensitive UK tech company itself linked to UK military supply chains and the supply chains of other major western commercial companies. China has consistently denied accusations of espionage and wrong-doing.

The consequences of research being stolen in cutting-edge fields like Artificial Intelligence are not just for a company's profitability but also for the future of western countries, the head of MI5 warned.
"These technologies are at a historic moment where they are beginning to change our world in some pretty fundamental ways," Mr McCallum told the BBC.
"And we know that authoritarian states are laser-focused on the opportunities that these technologies may present for them."

AI, in addition to the data collected by China, could even offer the chance to interfere with politics in a far more effective way, he warned.
Concerns over China were echoed by other members of the Five Eyes alliance.

"China has made economic espionage and stealing others' work and ideas a central component of its national strategy and that espionage is at the expense of innovators in all five of our countries," FBI Director Chris Wray told journalists.
"That threat has only gotten more dangerous and more insidious in recent years."

He said there were more than 2,000 current FBI investigations linked to China and that at one point his organisation was opening a new investigation every 12 hours.

Westerners say 'you are a spy'.
Just like the Jews said that "the Uyghurs suffered genocide."

Westerners are naturally skilled at lying, robbing, stealing, and spreading fake news.

This is their gene.

Ms. Merkel can prove it.

MI5 head warns of 'epic scale' of Chinese espionage

Tens of thousands of British businesses are warned of the risk of having their innovation stolen.

www.bbc.com

More than 20,000 people in the UK have now been approached covertly online by Chinese spies, the head of MI5 said.

It comes amid a new warning to tens of thousands of British businesses of the risk of having their innovation stolen.
Ken McCallum was speaking to the BBC at an unprecedented public appearance of the security chiefs of the Five Eyes alliance in California.

The heads of US, UK, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand security agencies appeared together.

They did so for the first time to warn of commercial secrets being obtained by China.
Stanford University in California was chosen as the venue for the first public meeting because it lies in the heart of Silicon Valley. In both public statements and a closed session with entrepreneurs and investors, security chiefs warned that cutting-edge research is being stolen.

"We have seen a sustained campaign on a pretty epic scale," Mr McCallum told the BBC in an interview during the event.

In the past, MI5 focused on protecting government secrets from foreign spies but now the fear is that innovation is often stolen from small companies, start-ups and researchers who may not previously have worried about security.
"If you're working today at the cutting edge of technology then geopolitics is interested in you, even if you're not interested in geopolitics," Mr McCallum said.
MI5 is trying to warn tens of thousands of UK companies who are potentially at risk, and doing so requires the security service to go public in a way it has not done before.
Mr McCallum said that MI5 had now seen suspected Chinese agents approach over 20,000 people in the UK over professional networking sites like LinkedIn, in order to try to cultivate them to provide sensitive information, double the previously reported figure.

In the last year, MI5 has also seen more than 20 instances of Chinese companies considering or actively trying to gain access to sensitive technology developed by UK companies and universities through investments or other means where the full role of China is hidden, often through complicated company structures.

That has included at least two Chinese companies seeking to avoid the scrutiny required under law to access sensitive technology of UK companies undetected.
Another Chinese company is believed to have acquired stolen research data from a top UK university. And there are thought to be attempts to bypass and undermine the management and regulatory controls at another two top institutions in order to access and influence cutting-edge research.
MI5 and its allies also disrupted the acquisition of a sensitive UK tech company itself linked to UK military supply chains and the supply chains of other major western commercial companies. China has consistently denied accusations of espionage and wrong-doing.

The consequences of research being stolen in cutting-edge fields like Artificial Intelligence are not just for a company's profitability but also for the future of western countries, the head of MI5 warned.
"These technologies are at a historic moment where they are beginning to change our world in some pretty fundamental ways," Mr McCallum told the BBC.
"And we know that authoritarian states are laser-focused on the opportunities that these technologies may present for them."

AI, in addition to the data collected by China, could even offer the chance to interfere with politics in a far more effective way, he warned.
Concerns over China were echoed by other members of the Five Eyes alliance.

"China has made economic espionage and stealing others' work and ideas a central component of its national strategy and that espionage is at the expense of innovators in all five of our countries," FBI Director Chris Wray told journalists.
"That threat has only gotten more dangerous and more insidious in recent years."

He said there were more than 2,000 current FBI investigations linked to China and that at one point his organisation was opening a new investigation every 12 hours.

Westerners say 'you are a spy'.
Just like the Jews said that "the Uyghurs suffered genocide."

Westerners are naturally skilled at lying, robbing, stealing, and spreading fake news.

This is their gene.

Ms. Merkel can prove it.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Westerners are naturally skilled at lying, robbing, stealing, and spreading fake news.

LOL! The usual Chinese reply script:
Deny, obfuscate, smokescreen, tangent

Instead of a rebuttal with facts..

 

[tower9]

I call bullshit on the numbers. Why would 20,000 be needed for espionage? How much valuable info does the average person have? At most it would probably be like 100 being approached. More fake news.

 

[GreatHanWarrior]

LOL! The usual Chinese reply script:
Deny, obfuscate, smokescreen, tangent

Oh. I do not create or spread false news. And all Western dogs?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I call bullshit on the numbers. Why would 20,000 be needed for espionage? How much valuable info does the average person have? At most it would probably be like 100 being approached. More fake news.

How hard is it to send emails to people offering them money if they have information worth selling?

This is not something hard to do. They don't have to walk into an embassy and get an interview.

 

[tower9]

How hard is it to send emails to people offering them money if they have information worth selling?

This is not something hard to do. They don't have to walk into an embassy and get an interview.

Sending emails soliciting sensitive information to tens of thousands of people just defeats your own purpose. That is utter stupidity. Way to completely expose your espionage efforts.

This story is just more fucking bullshit just like most of the anti-China agenda. You're acting like Western intelligence agencies are remotely trustworthy when it comes to the validity of the stories they disseminate. Let's also not pretend the CIA and Mossad and MI5 have their fingers in everything globally as well at a scale far larger than China. They actually topple governments on the regular.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

You're acting like Western intelligence agencies are remotely trustworthy when it comes to the validity of the stories they disseminate. Let's also not pretend the CIA and Mossad and MI5 have their fingers in everything globally as well at a scale far larger than China. They actually topple governments on the regular.

LOL! As if Chinese intelligence is trustworthy?

Hey Governments aren't trustworthy.

Hey Medias aren't trustworthy.

Hey people aren't trustworthy.

Why even read anything on PDF when everything is fake.

Just skip it and hang out at the beach.

 

[tower9]

LOL! As if Chinese intelligence is trustworthy?

Hey Governments aren't trustworthy.

Hey people aren't trustworthy.

Why even read anything on PDF when everything is fake.

Just skip it and hang out at the beach.

So if you know that governments are not trustworthy then why do you take every story about China being issued by western intelligence agencies as god given truths?

The entire assumption of that article is absurd. There is no doubt China does espionage like every other country but to approach that many people is utter stupidity.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

but to approach that many people is utter stupidity.

 

[tower9]

View attachment 964090

No there is a difference between making a viable shot and just hitting a puck against a wall. Don’t be stupid.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

No there is a difference between making a viable shot and just hitting a puck against a wall. Don’t be stupid.

Are you serious? All it takes is to find that one key disgruntled person and the floodgates of data open. This person doesn't have to be at the top. it could be that underpaid nightshift guard with the keys to a secure building. That is not somebody who would be in most people's list of your "100".

You are failing to comprehend the damage of what even some "nobody" could do.

 

[huanghong]

Heck, the only British technology company that the British government has blocked from a Chinese company in the past five years is Newport Wafer Fab, a small company with only the outdated technology of 200 nanometer chips.
Is this the one MI5 and its allies also sabotaged the takeover of a sensitive British technology company?
To be honest, it’s hard to understand why a small company that has lagged behind in technology and is on the verge of bankruptcy has become a sensitive technology company in the eyes of MI5.

Newport Wafer Fab: Restrictions blamed for proposed job losses

Nexperia announce 100 job losses after it was told to sell its stake over national security worries.

www.bbc.com

 

[gambit]

I call bullshit on the numbers. Why would 20,000 be needed for espionage? How much valuable info does the average person have? At most it would probably be like 100 being approached. More fake news.

First...The article said X number of people were APPROACHED, not that China wanted X number of spies.

Second...The article said the X number of people were in key industries, notably technology.

But does it mean China does not want 20,000 citizens of a country working for China? Of course, yes. Who would be stupid to turn anyone away?

As for how much info does an 'average' person has, a long time ago, I was friend with a cryptolinguist, that is someone who listens to foreign radio and translate what he hears. He gave me an example of anything regarding crypto.

"We are having a great time at Disneyland."​

​

The keywords for anyone intercepted that message are: 'We', 'at', and 'Disneyland'.

I do not care if you are having a 'great time' or not. The word 'We' mean a group so most likely a family, and the words 'at Disneyland' means many days away from home. So now I can burglar your house and I have several days to do it.

Intelligence collection is nothing like the movies where someone meet someone and they talk and talk for hrs. It is about collecting disparate bits of information from different sources who are unaware of each other, then put all those bits together and try to make sense of everything. Just like the 'Disneyland' message above, all I need is just enough for me to make an educated guess. Three words out of eight. Less than %50 and that enabled me to burglar your house.

Heck, the only British technology company that the British government has blocked from a Chinese company in the past five years is Newport Wafer Fab, a small company with only the outdated technology of 200 nanometer chips.
Is this the one MI5 and its allies also sabotaged the takeover of a sensitive British technology company?
To be honest, it’s hard to understand why a small company that has lagged behind in technology and is on the verge of bankruptcy has become a sensitive technology company in the eyes of MI5.

Newport Wafer Fab: Restrictions blamed for proposed job losses

Nexperia announce 100 job losses after it was told to sell its stake over national security worries.

www.bbc.com

This just goes to show how shortsighted you are. So what if the technology at 200 mm is old. That the fab is in production is indicative of a customer list for its products. The more you know about its products, the better you can find out who are on that customer list. The opportunities are abundant.

So either you are too stupid and talks of something you know nothing about, or that you are hilariously trying to cover for your China.

So if you know that governments are not trustworthy then why do you take every story about China being issued by western intelligence agencies as god given truths?

The entire assumption of that article is absurd. There is no doubt China does espionage like every other country but to approach that many people is utter stupidity.

No, it is not stupid. In fact, it is smart, especially in this day of social media. It is like those bulk Nigerian prince email scam. All they need is just a few gullible few out of the hundreds of thousands emails sent.