Spy Chiefs Warn—China Espionage is Targeting Tech Firms
The U.S. and allies are warning of an “unprecedented threat” after meeting at Stanford University. F.B.I. officials claim that more than half of Chinese espionage that focuses on stealing American technology occurs in the Bay Area.
Heads of the F.B.I. and Britain’s MI5 and counterparts from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand gathered to publically discuss intelligence threats at a summit of spy hunters that detect and stop efforts by China to steal allied secrets.
Examples include Bitcoin mines—China-linked crypto-currency facilities in the U.S. Microsoft reported one site in Wyoming based on its proximity to a data center and nuclear missile base. China’s investment in the U.S., including a plan by the subsidiary of a Chinese company to build an electric-vehicle battery factory in Michigan, is becoming one of the latest battlegrounds.
U.S. officials claim China’s espionage efforts have reached every facet of national security, diplomacy, and advanced commercial technology in the United States and partner nations. The spy chiefs said China is intensely interested in Western AI and its potential to allow countries to improve their intelligence collection and analysis.
Just before the spy chiefs met on Tuesday, the Biden administration announced that it was limiting the sale of advanced semiconductors to China, an effort that could curb China’s development of artificial intelligence. The intelligence chiefs say China is using hacking, pressure on Chinese students, informants in Western companies, and joint ventures with Western firms to steal critical technology. The U.S. is attempting to shut down illegal overseas police stations used to monitor and intimidate dissidents.
