CHINESE SPIES A THREAT TO UNIVERSITY RESEARCH
Chinese spies pose strongest threats to university research
Counterintelligence agency urges greater effort to counter Chinese, other foreign agents
Chinese intelligence services are recruiting students, stealing American research and engaging in harassment of dissidents at U.S. universities, says a new report by the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
Other foreign spies are targeting universities with similar operations, but the Chinese threat is the most significant, the center said in a 40-page report, “Safeguarding Academia: Protecting Fundamental Research, Intellectual Property, Critical Technologies and the U.S. Research Ecosystem.”
“No nation has targeted Western research, science and technology as aggressively as China,” the report said. “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese intelligence services represent the broadest, most active and persistent espionage threat to the U.S.”
Russia and other foreign adversaries are engaged in technology theft from American schools to advance their programs but do so less aggressively.
Chinese spies also pose the most significant threat to U.S. technology competitiveness by seeking “all manner of critical and enabling U.S. technologies,” the report said.
Specific sectors include electronics, software, communications equipment and other materials aimed at advancing Chinese economic and military goals.
The Chinese Ministry of State Security, the leading civilian intelligence agency, is working to recruit U.S. experts in critical and emerging technology areas, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, quantum technologies, semiconductors, optics, hypersonics and energy systems.
China also is using its forays into academics to exploit research in genetics, medicine and AI to repress vulnerable populations and target specific people, the report said.
One example cited in the report was an unidentified professor at a U.S. university who shared genetic data with Chinese researchers. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security, the national political police agency, used the data to profile and surveil minority Uyghurs in western China.
The State Department has declared Chinese repression of the Uyghurs to be genocide.
“The data was used to build a comprehensive DNA database that enabled the CCP to identify and track Uighur dissidents, sparking widespread criticism from human rights groups,” the report said. “This case underscores the need for researchers, institutions and governments to work together to establish robust safeguards and due diligence practices to prevent the misuse of research and protect against foreign malign influence.”
The root of the threat does not emanate from the Chinese people or Chinese Americans, who are often victimized by China. The main problem is the Chinese government, the CCP and Chinese intelligence services, the report said.
Methods used to obtain U.S. research include foreign talent recruitment programs, state-sponsored espionage, coercion of information from students and faculty, and technical/cyber techniques.
…
