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Amid increasing alarm about the breadth and intensity of Chinese espionage against the democratic world, in July 2022, the heads of MI5 and FBI warned of the growing threat posed by China stating, "The Chinese government poses an even more serious threat to Western businesses" and "is set on stealing your technology" with a hacking program "bigger than that of every major country combined."
Companies, agencies, departments and universities across the world now face a state-sponsored onslaught actively and passively engaged in economic and national espionage. Economic espionage (IP theft) is not only being actively conducted through direct cyber measures but, based on recent cases and reports, it is also being conducted passively through the reported funding, acquisition and coercion of universities and academics. There is also evidence that China even engages in passive collection and targeting of individuals through social media platforms, like Linkedin and Facebook. For those in universities as well as industries outside of education, it's important to understand what is currently known about cybersecurity threats and the steps you can take to mitigate the risks.
Direct Cyber Theft
In May 2022, CBS news reported: "A years-long malicious cyber operation spearheaded by the notorious Chinese state actor, APT 41, has siphoned off an estimated trillions in intellectual property theft from approximately 30 multinational companies within the manufacturing, energy and pharmaceutical sectors." The report continued, "hundreds of gigabytes of intellectual property and sensitive data, including blueprints, diagrams, formulas, and manufacturing-related proprietary data from multiple intrusions, spanning technology and manufacturing companies in North America, Europe, and Asia." From 2008 to 2013, "Chinese hackers penetrated the servers of American companies and stole intellectual property valued, by some estimates, at between $200 billion and $600 billion per year."
Exploitation of Academia
Last month the Daily Beast reported "a Maryland professor created software that can read people's personalities and 'predict their behavior.'" The report continued, "The professor built software 'useful for surveillance' as part of a six-figure research grant from Chinese tech giant Alibaba.
Recently, NBC news reported, "At least 154 Chinese scientists who worked on government-sponsored research at the U.S.'s foremost national security laboratory (Los Alamos National Laboratory) over the last two decades have been recruited to do scientific work in China — some of which helped advance military technology that threatens American national security."
The elephant in the room — research funding and tuition revenue — was acknowledged in the joint statement by MI5 and the FBI: "Having, for example, almost 150,000 Chinese students in the UK's universities is, in almost all cases, good for them and good for us." This is good, so long as it is not weaponized. The Chinese government has weaponized some, if not all, the research funding and tuition revenue international institutions and academics rely on. Chinese graduate students are preferred not only for their talent but more importantly for the research dollars they can bring in and the full-price tuition they pay: all provided by China. This has created quite a dilemma for academic institutions.
In a recent case, a professor was convicted of four counts of fraud and making false statements. NPR reported that "Prosecutors alleged that Tao concealed work with a Chinese university and an affiliation with a Chinese government-run talent program in a scheme to defraud the University of Kansas and the government." The defense maintains the professor "never formally accepted the job offer at China's Fuzhou University, was never paid, and did not violate rules about disclosure that were in place at the time."
U.S. think tanks and academic institutions are also funded by foreign nations across the world, and it is important to remember the coercive leverage. In 2018, the newly elected South Korean President Moon shut down the U.S.-Korea Institute at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies by pulling its funding. This decision was reportedly made under economic pressure from China. In 2017, the U.S.-based think tank "Asia Society" was accused of kowtowing to China for refusing to host an event featuring Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong.
Information Advantage
In China's pursuit of an information advantage, no stone is left unturned. Case in point: "Dickseon Yeo" or if we use his real name "Jun Wei Yeo." Born and raised in Singapore, Mr. Yeo used the cover of academia (PhD candidate) to collect information and recruit would-be American traitors for the Chinese government (MSS). He leveraged LinkedIn to garner hundreds of resumes with three reported government officials on his payroll, providing information through "essays" on directed topics. Anyone who understands "Small World Theory" knew Mr. Yeo was destined for a visit from the FBI. Coincidently, yours truly, was targeted by Mr. Yeo.
As an academic, I was keen to write for money. In academia and media, these opportunities are rare and can draw many interested individuals. To me, something was off about Mr. Yeo and so I ghosted the poor guy.
On Mr. Yeo, the FBI stated, "This case is yet another reminder that China is relentless in its pursuit of U.S. technology and policy information in order to advance its own interests."
Starting today, Protect Yourselves
Echoing MI5 Director McCallum and FBI Director Wray, "starting today, we must protect ourselves." Based on my experience both in academia and cybersecurity, I firmly believe it must be a whole-of-system response: partnership not just between democratic nations, but with academia, industry and individuals. There must be a policy response for academic institutions and individuals: more funding for academics to counter funding from China as well as security review on all grants involving dual-use technology. For those in academia and beyond, there are steps you can take today to help mitigate cybersecurity risks.
1. When in doubt, don't click on a link. Double-check with the sender to be sure it is not a phishing attack.
2. If you do wish to click on the link, consider a filter like Urlscan.io and VirusTotal to open the link first.
3. Familiarize yourself with CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency).
4. The "Think Before You Link" app works to identify the hallmarks of fake profiles used by foreign spies and other malicious actors.
5. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is essential.
6. Use password managers and a randomly generated password for every account; never reuse passwords.
7. Patch your systems on a weekly basis.
8. Keep all data (intellectual property, trade secrets) air-gapped.
We cannot retreat from the internet, we cannot shut it down or turn it off — no we must press into it, with our eyes wide open and wits about us. As investigations and cases continue to surface, the need for a basic understanding of basic cyber security hygiene is more important than ever.