US intelligence accuses China of using student spies to steal secrets

The Hill ^ | 02/02/19 | Tal Axelrod

[yesthatjallen]

U.S. intelligence officials say China is using students studying in the U.S. to steal secrets and spy on other Chinese people, according to a CNN feature published Friday.

Current and former intelligence officials, lawmakers and several experts told CNN that Beijing inserts spies into the 350,000 students China sends to the U.S. every year to undermine American industries and recruit more potential spies.

"We assess that China's intelligence services will exploit the openness of American society, especially academia and the scientific community, using a variety of means," according to the intelligence community's World Wide Threat Assessment released Tuesday.

Multiple former U.S. officials told CNN that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have warned for over a decade that universities could become soft targets for foreign intelligence services to use student and staff to steal new technology and suggest other Chinese civilians living in the U.S. to be recruited as spies.

Senior officials have sought to renew the urgency surrounding the issue in recent months by underlining the threat during congressional testimony and speeches at security forums.

While the vast majority of Chinese students are in the U.S. for legitimate purposes, officials told CNN the Trump administration is continuing to tackle counterintelligence concerns regarding vulnerabilities at institutions of higher education.

"We want to be able to tap into that talent pool and not lose them back to China," one official told CNN.

“We allow 350,000 or so Chinese students here every year,” William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said last April during an Aspen Institute conference. “That's a lot. We have a very liberal visa policy for them. Ninety-nine point nine percent of those students are here legitimately and doing great research and helping the global economy. But it is a tool that is used by the Chinese government to facilitate nefarious activity here in the US.”

Chinese students constitute the largest foreign student body in the U.S., a group that continues to grow.

China denies it uses foreign students to spy on the U.S.

Administration officials told CNN the State Department is considering imposing tighter vetting measures on student visa applications to address the problem. President Trump has also said any resolution in an ongoing trade war with Beijing must also deal with China’s efforts to steal government secrets and intellectual property.

Since 2017, the Department of Justice has also indicted several individuals and corporations on allegations of economic espionage and intellectual property theft.

While officials admit combatting the efforts is difficult, FBI Director Christopher Wray said last year he is “encouraged” by efforts to tackle foreign spying.

“American companies are waking up, American universities are waking up, our foreign partners are waking up,” Wray said at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing last year

[butlerweave]

All Chinese steal for their Dear Leader Yogi Bear

[Jim W N]

China’s so freaking dysfunctional.

Trade with ‘em but don’t trust ‘em and NO political deals at all.

[Sacajaweau]

We didn’t even need this memo....that’s common knowledge.

[Theo]

Of course. We’ve known this for years.

[VTenigma]

Intelligence agency. Could there be a bigger contradiction in terms? Anyone with any level of consciousness knew this was going on since the ‘70s.

[rhombus10]

I wish they’d steal more of the junk science.

[rhombus10]

They’re too busy planting junk science.

[McGavin999]

We need to stop all foreign students. Perhaps then university education would become more affordable

[marktwain]

Chinese students constitute the largest foreign student body in the U.S., a group that continues to grow.

China denies it uses foreign students to spy on the U.S.

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That is some funny stuff! The Chinese are stealing us blind, and have been doing so for decades.

[MayflowerMadam]

Shoot. My husband was at Berkeley in the ‘70s and he had two Chinese roommates. All they did was cheat to get better marks and steal to help themselves. Their culture doesn’t have a problem with it; it’s what they do. They honestly think it’s OK.

If U.S. Intelligence is just catching on now, they may want to lose the word, “intelligence”.

[GOPJ]

We’re paying these yahoos billions and they come up with the figgin’ obvious?

[gaijin]

We need to change it:

If you’re a student from China you absolutely CAN study in the USA...

AS LONG AS your major has the word, “studies” in the department title.

No more IT, Comp Sci, EE, BioSci, Physics. And no nuclear ANYTHING.

[Grimmy]

If China was cut off from us completely, student transfers, tech transfers through trade, trade, banking, everything...

In a month we’d start getting reports of large swaths of China reduced to cannibalism. Their economy is that fragile.

They have no tech development of their own. It’s all stolen or given to them through ridiculously stupid trade deals.

[ConsCA]

Yes, and they have been doing this for decades. I’ve worked in multiple industries and saw IP theft. I gave a talk about such theft at a conference in the ‘90s and it was met with a very cool response...

[\/\/ayne]

I ran into a huge group of Chinese students once; I just happened to be holding this sign:


The reason I was holding the sign was because of some radicals protesting the Air Show. The students were going in to look around.

They were all taking photos of me and pointing so I asked "Are you guys all from Communist China?"

Yep, they were. I was on the corner and they were crossing the street. When they were halfway across one yelled back "That's not true! Communism didn't kill all those people!" He was trying to yell that just before they went out of earshot so I wouldn't be able to reply.

He didn't realize I had a megaphone. Now I could reply all I wanted! I explained "You can read all about it in the book "Mao: The Unknown Story" about Chairman Mao Zedong. It's in our American public libraries!" I repeated that and related some facts from the book (I had just read it) until they were out of earshot. Good times.

[dhs12345]

They didn’t buy the global warming BS.

[shelterguy]

Of course. We’ve known this for years.
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Of course. We plan on a quarterly basis as in quarter of a year. They plan based on a quarter of a century. Slow and steady and they are stealing us blind bit by bit.

[Trump_the_Evil_Left]

yeah but naive academics look the other way and/or welcome it all..... in the name of “openness” (and money) academia is helping the PRC to rob us blind.