Chinese intelligence activity abroad

[39] In July 2020, in its annual report, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, warned consumers that personal data they provide to Chinese payment companies or other tech firms such as Tencent, Alibaba and others, could end up in the hands of China's government.

"[45] In 2023, Chen Wenqing of the CCP's Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission directed party cadres and committees at all levels to "attach great importance to, concern themselves with, and support covert front work.

[105] On 21 October 2022, The Tribune, an Indian English newspaper, reported that Delhi Police apprehended a Chinese female citizen hailing from Hainan province in China, and she was accused of assuming a false identity as a monk and allegedly engaging in "anti-national activities.

[129] Huang Jing (黄靖), an academic at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, was expelled from Singapore in 2017, reportedly for working as an agent of influence for Chinese intelligence services.

[132] FireEye claims that two hacker operations tied to the Chinese military, dubbed Tonto Team and Stone Panda/APT10, have attempted to hack the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other targets related to the deployment of THAAD.

[140] In 2007 the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau stated that 500 gigabyte Maxtor Basics Personal Storage 3200 hard drives produced by Seagate Technology and manufactured in Thailand may have been modified by a Chinese subcontractor and shipped with the Virus.Win32.AutoRun.ah virus.

[143] Zhou Hongxu (周泓旭), a graduate of National Chengchi University's MBA program, has been accused of attempting to recruit an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide intelligence to China.

[158] In January 2018, it was reported that the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office is investigating if classified information regarding the Airborne Special Service Company was passed on to Zhou Hongxu (周泓旭), who was already convicted for violating the National Security Act.

[161] Captain Zhen Xiaojiang (鎮小江) was convicted in 2015 of recruiting Taiwanese military officers as part of a spy ring on behalf of China, including Army Major-General Hsu Nai-chuan (許乃權).

[167][168] According to the cyber-security firm Area 1, hackers working for the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force compromised the COREU network used for communication by the European Union, allowing for the theft of thousands of low-classified documents and diplomatic cables.

[170] In a July 2021 joint statement with NATO, the individual core Anglosphere/Five Eyes nations, and Japan, the EU accused the Ministry of State Security, along with MSS-contracted criminal hackers, of perpetrating several cyberattacks, most notably the 2021 Microsoft Exchange Server data breach.

[182] On 15 December 2023, a joint investigation by Financial Times, Der Spiegel and Le Monde revealed that former Vlaams Belang senator Frank Creyelman accepted bribes from Ministry of State Security for three years to influence discussions within the European Union.

He also notified of an "increasingly strong" Chinese presence around VLF military transmission center across France citing the example of the creation of "sino-european hub" funded by the investment company of Beijing Municipality in a remote town near the HWU transmitter.

[215] Germans officials believe Trojan viruses were inserted in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint files, and approximately 160 gigabytes of data were siphoned to Canton, Lanzhou and Beijing via South Korea, on instructions from the People's Liberation Army.

[219] Walter Opfermann, a counter-intelligence expert for the state of Baden-Württemberg, claimed that China is using extremely sophisticated electronic attacks capable of endangering portions of critical German infrastructure, having gathered sensitive information through techniques such as phone hacking and Trojan emails.

[235] We can, based on many, many indicators, say with high confidence that Winnti is being directed by the Chinese [government].Lithuanian intelligence agencies have claimed that China is engaged in an "increasingly aggressive" campaign of espionage, which includes "attempts to recruit Lithuanian citizens".

[117] In February 2020, the FSB detained Dr. Valery Mitko, President of Russia's Arctic Academy of Sciences, on charges of providing classified information related to underwater detection of submarines to Chinese intelligence operatives.

"[278][279] According to an investigation by Recorded Future, Chinese hackers broke into the computer networks of the Vatican and the Holy See's Study Mission to China, including by placing malware in what appeared to be a letter from Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

[285] In 2005, Canadian businessman Joe Wang stated his belief that threatening letters he received after broadcasting programs about alleged human rights abuses in China were from the Chinese consulate; one of the envelopes contained boric acid.

[293] China is suspected of having a long history of espionage in the United States against military and industrial secrets, often resorting to the exploitation of commercial entities and a network of scientific, academic, and business contacts.

[295] The U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the fund-raising activities had uncovered evidence that Chinese agents sought to direct contributions from foreign sources to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) before the 1996 presidential campaign.

[303] China's espionage and cyberattacks against the US government and business organizations are a major concern, according to the seventh annual report (issued September 2009) to the US Congress of the United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission.

[315] In February 2020, the United States government indicted members of China's PLA for hacking into Equifax and plundering sensitive data as part of a massive heist that also included stealing trade secrets.

"[318] In July 2020, the United States Department of Justice indicted two Chinese hackers with global computer intrusion campaign targeting intellectual property and confidential business information, including COVID-19 research.

[319] In a July 2021 joint statement with NATO, the EU, and other Western nations, the US accused the Ministry of State Security of perpetrating several cyberattacks, including the 2021 Microsoft Exchange Server data breach.

[171][172][173][174] In November 2022, Yanjun Xu, the first Chinese government intelligence officer ever to be extradited to the United States to stand trial was sentenced to 20 years in prison for espionage crimes, attempting to steal trade secrets.

[323][324] CSIS observed that in recent years, China has expanded its espionage efforts to include the theft of substantial amounts of personal information (PII), political manipulation, and influence operations.

[325] On January 8, 2024, Zhao was convicted of transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for bribery payments and sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,500 fine.

[331][332] A male Chinese student from Fujian was granted a protection visa by the Refugee Review Tribunal of Australia after revealing that he had been instructed to spy on Australian targets in exchange for an overseas scholarship, reporting to the Ministry of State Security.

[333] Nicola Roxon, the Attorney-General of Australia, blocked the Shenzhen-based corporation Huawei from seeking a supply contract for the National Broadband Network, on the advice of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).