Experts Warn: Chinese Espionage Escalating and West Losing Grip

amsterdam - Chinese government's widespread espionage activities in collaboration with citizens and businesses is causing concern among Western intelligence agencies.

Chinese government's President Xi Jinping once stated that 'Security is the precondition of development and development guarantees security. Security and development go hand in hand.' This ideology might explain why intelligence gathering is so deeply integrated into Chinese society. It's not just Chinese government institutions involved in espionage; citizens and businesses, whether willingly or under coercion, are also engaged in intelligence work.

This makes it challenging to track Chinese espionage activities. For instance, the recent Chinese hack of hundreds of thousands of internet-connected devices, discovered by the United States and the United Kingdom, allowed hackers to take control of devices like webcams, routers, and servers, turning them into a botnet for potential cyberattacks.

The botnet was allegedly controlled by Integrity Technology Group, a private Chinese company with suspected ties to Chinese intelligence services. Integrity often organizes hacking competitions to recruit tech talents for both the company and the government. Insights gained from these competitions on foreign tech infrastructure are shared with Chinese intelligence services.

The collaboration between the private and public sectors goes even further. The U.S. has long warned its allies against allowing Huawei to build their telecom networks due to concerns that the company provides backdoors to Chinese intelligence services. This complicates countermeasures as economies, especially in the West, are heavily dependent on China.

Individuals are also frequently coerced into espionage. Examples include Chinese exchange students or visiting lecturers at Western universities who engage in deceptive practices to gather intelligence. Directly combating Chinese espionage is described as an endless and impossible task due to the vast scale of China's security apparatus.

Despite China's denial, Western intelligence agencies believe that Huawei is not the only company collaborating with Chinese authorities in this manner. The Chinese intelligence apparatus consists of several autonomous units, further complicating countersurveillance efforts. Chinese espionage activities are also distinct in their lack of effort to remain covert compared to espionage norms of other countries.

With recent economic slowdowns, Chinese intelligence services are under pressure to drive innovation covertly to maintain China's global economic competitiveness. This pursuit is crucial for Xi Jinping to secure his position as long as the Chinese economy remains stable. These unpredictable intelligence activities, combined with current geopolitical tensions, pose a potential risk of escalation.

CIA director William Burns has visited China twice in the past year to prevent misunderstandings and unintended confrontations. This underscores the need to address growing espionage concerns before they escalate further.