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Chinas expanding espionage and technology-gathering activities are raising concerns over national security, critical infrastructure and democratic societies, with analysts warning that stolen data and advanced technologies could be used for surveillance, cyber operations and political interference, The Epoch Times reported.
The concerns follow an unprecedented alert issued by Britains domestic intelligence agency MI5 on September 30 regarding academic research allegedly linked to Chinas Ministry of State Security (MSS), according to The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times reported that more than 100 UK-linked academics had contributed to projects connected with Chinas civilian intelligence agency. The newspaper said funding for some of the research was channelled through the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI) into areas including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and other advanced technologies. According to The Epoch Times, MI5 said CGTRIs primary purpose was to support academic research that could improve the technical capabilities of the MSS for espionage. British authorities have also warned that institutions or individuals continuing to participate in such projects could face legal consequences under the UKs National Security Act, passed in 2023 to strengthen measures against foreign espionage and hostile state activity. The Epoch Times also reported on a separate case in Germany, where police arrested a married couple in Munich in May over allegations of spying for China by establishing contacts with academics working in aerospace engineering, computer science and artificial intelligence. Lin Tzuli, director of the Center for China and Regional Development at Taiwans Tunghai University, told The Epoch Times that Chinas alleged espionage, technology theft and cyber activities could create risks extending beyond individual countries. Lin said compromised data could facilitate more sophisticated cross-border surveillance, allowing Chinese intelligence agencies to monitor the communications and movements of targeted individuals. He further warned that intelligence obtained through such activities could provide covert access points into critical infrastructure, potentially creating vulnerabilities that could be exploited during a crisis. According to The Epoch Times, Lin also said Beijing could combine intelligence gathered through data collection with generative AI to make political influence operations more targeted. He suggested that harvested information could be used to identify social divisions before synthetic audio, video and coordinated online messaging are deployed to influence different groups. The developments have intensified debate in Western countries over the security implications of international academic collaboration, research funding and access to emerging technologies. (ANI)
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