China spies on university researchers to grab military secrets – The Wall Street Journal

It has emerged that Chinese hackers have successfully penetrated university IT systems in the US to steal western maritime military secrets.

Published on:

06 Mar 2019, 2:43 pm

EDINBURGH — China is a nation of spies. The ruling Communist Party encourages and compels its citizens to spy on each other in order to maintain social control, I was told by my Communist Party friends when I lived in China. Files are kept as individuals progress from university and through their careers and China has a whole army dedicated to eavesdropping in and through social media and on email accounts. This spying isn't limited within its geographic borders. Last year, China was accused of sending scientists to the UK, US, Germany, Australia and Singapore to covertly acquire information on technologies used in maritime defence. A researcher, affiliated to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, estimated that some 2,500 with links to the Chinese People's Liberation Army had been obscuring their military affiliations while at western institutions since 2007. Now it has emerged that Chinese hackers have successfully penetrated university IT systems in the US to steal western maritime military secrets. The Wall Street Journal warns that Chinese groups have targeted universities around the world. – Jackie Cameron