{"id":1552,"date":"2020-10-22T11:14:20","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T09:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/?p=1552"},"modified":"2020-10-22T11:14:20","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T09:14:20","slug":"the-5-faces-of-chinese-espionage-the-worlds-first-digital-authoritarian-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luftverteidigung.ch\/de\/the-5-faces-of-chinese-espionage-the-worlds-first-digital-authoritarian-state\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Faces Of Chinese Espionage: The World\u2019s First \u2018Digital Authoritarian State\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 5 Faces Of Chinese Espionage: The World\u2019s First \u2018Digital Authoritarian State\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nicholas Eftimiades, breakingdefense.com, 22.10.2020<\/a><\/p>\n

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Chinese cyber operators<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chinese spies are different from those of most other wealthy and developed countries where the majority of spies are highly trained, with some serving under diplomatic cover and others operating under what the US Intelligence Community calls Non Official Cover (NOC).<\/p>\n

Chinese intelligence operations are the first in modern times to use, as a foundation, the whole of society. Because of this, China\u2019s espionage tactics are sometimes artless, operating with little in the way of standard spy-fare, (encrypted communication, dead drops, etc.) instead relying on an overwhelming volume of espionage operations conducted by all manner of citizen and a sort of impunity inherent in the lack of substantive penalty for when a Chinese agent is discovered, a study I recently published analyzing 595 cases of intelligence collection efforts sanctioned and abetted by the Chinese Communist Party.<\/p>\n

Beijing has evolved to become the world\u2019s first \u2018digital authoritarian state\u2019. Its creativity and ability to combine all the elements of \u2018societal power,\u2019 including espionage, information control, industrial policy, political and economic coercion, foreign policy, threat of military force, and technological strength challenges the world\u2019s rules-based international order.<\/p>\n

Recent Chinese espionage cases such as Kevin Mallory, Edward Peng, Ron Rockwell Hansen, and Dickson Yeo show improvements in the handling \u2018tradecraft\u2019 of intelligence assets.<\/p>\n

My study, A Series on Chinese Espionage \u2014 Vol. 1 Operations and Tactics peels back, layer by layer, the Chinese espionage apparatus at-work in the United States, finding a burgeoning audacity. The willingness to employ average people with little or no training implies a failure of organization and also the same dearth of coordination that\u2019s plagued a Chinese intelligence infrastructure that\u2019s been purged over and through regime change, this Whole of Society operational strategy marks an emboldened departure for an intelligence community that has historically been a hackneyed doppelg\u00e4nger of the American CIA, British MI6, and Russian SVR.<\/p>\n

Analysis Findings<\/p>\n

Patterns emerged from the study indicating which technologies and information are being targeted. They can be grouped into clear categories which incidentally align with the CCP\u2019s Made in China 2025 industrial policy, Space Science and Technology Goals to 2050, and Beijing\u2019s 13th Five Year Plan.<\/p>\n

Major Chinese policy documents outline information objectives based on gaps identified within the Chinese technology, commercial, and military apparatus which become the basis for national strategic technology objectives. National Chinese information objectives have a strong correlation to China\u2019s espionage activities, reflecting a congruence between China\u2019s public and covert operational goals.<\/p>\n

Of the 595 cases herein considered, 435 cases targeted technologies or information identified in Chinese policy document information objectives. The analysis further identifies a disproportionate emphasis on Aerospace Technology (116 cases) and information Technology (113 cases).<\/p>\n

How China\u2019s Legal Framework Supports Espionage<\/p>\n

Chinese espionage emphasizes the development of China\u2019s industries and the theft of foreign wealth. To that end, the Chinese state employs government agencies, organizations, commercial entities, individual entrepreneurs, Chinese expatriates, Chinese and foreign researchers to attain its espionage goals.<\/p>\n

Most Chinese foreign operatives work under one the following:<\/p>\n