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China Used Stolen Data To Expose CIA Operatives in Africa and Europe (foreignpolicy.com) 56

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
The discovery of U.S. spy networks in China fueled a decadelong global war over data between Beijing and Washington. From a report: Around 2013, U.S. intelligence began noticing an alarming pattern: Undercover CIA personnel, flying into countries in Africa and Europe for sensitive work, were being rapidly and successfully identified by Chinese intelligence, according to three former U.S. officials. The surveillance by Chinese operatives began in some cases as soon as the CIA officers had cleared passport control. Sometimes, the surveillance was so overt that U.S. intelligence officials speculated that the Chinese wanted the U.S. side to know they had identified the CIA operatives, disrupting their missions; other times, however, it was much more subtle and only detected through U.S. spy agencies' own sophisticated technical countersurveillance capabilities. The CIA had been taking advantage of China's own growing presence overseas to meet or recruit sources, according to one of these former officials. "We can't get to them in Beijing, but can in Djibouti. Heat map Belt and Road" -- China's trillion-dollar infrastructure and influence initiative -- "and you'd see our activity happening. It's where the targets are." The CIA recruits "Russians and Chinese hard in Africa," said a former agency official. "And they know that." China's new aggressive moves to track U.S. operatives were likely a response to these U.S. efforts.

This series, based on interviews with over three dozen current and former U.S. intelligence and national security officials, tells the story of China's assault on U.S. personal data over the last decade -- and its consequences. But instead, CIA officials believed the answer was likely data-driven -- and related to a Chinese cyberespionage campaign devoted to stealing vast troves of sensitive personal private information, like travel and health data, as well as U.S. government personnel records. U.S. officials believed Chinese intelligence operatives had likely combed through and synthesized information from these massive, stolen caches to identify the undercover U.S. intelligence officials. It was very likely a "suave and professional utilization" of these datasets, said the same former intelligence official. This "was not random or generic," this source said. "It's a big-data problem." The battle over data -- who controls it, who secures it, who can steal it, and how it can be used for economic and security objectives -- is defining the global conflict between Washington and Beijing. Data has already critically shaped the course of Chinese politics, and it is altering the course of U.S. foreign policy and intelligence gathering around the globe. Just as China has sought to wield data as a sword and shield against the United States, America's spy agencies have tried to penetrate Chinese data streams and to use their own big-data capabilities to try to pinpoint exactly what China knows about U.S. personnel and operations.
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China Used Stolen Data To Expose CIA Operatives in Africa and Europe More

China Used Stolen Data To Expose CIA Operatives in Africa and Europe

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  • That seems like a complex explanation. How do they know the Chinese spooks aren't just using the tried and true method of bribing someone to pass on the names of CIA operatives?

    • You're forgetting that their economy depends on job-creation schemes and you can only build so many dams and empty cities... ;)

      They should look up IBM and German bureaucracy though. Imagine the jobs you could create with an approval sinature management tensor tree of consultants following tax laws that would make the Vogons cry tears into their permit A38.

      • "Recognizing irony is key to transcending militarism "
        https://pdfernhout.net/recogni... [pdfernhout.net]
        "Likewise, even United States three-letter agencies like the NSA and the CIA, as well as their foreign counterparts, are becoming ironic institutions in many ways. Despite probably having more computing power per square foot than any other place in the world, they seem not to have thought much about the implications of all that computer power and organized information to transform the world into a place of abundance for a

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by shanen ( 462549 )

      Well, better than the abusive FP, but still a weak start to the discussion. Oh yeah. You were in a rush to capture that FP slot, weren't you? (There was only the FP when I started writing, but my comment wound up around 7th place. That'll larn me not to type a hunderd wirds!)

      The Chinese do have a large advantage in humint in that they have lots of recruitable humans in suitable locations. Especially graduate schools. However they also have a disadvantage in that it's getting harder and harder to hide the li

      • No it wasn't the FP when I started writing.

        Again, what you describe sounds very complicated compared to bribing or blackmailing someone working for a government agency to gain a list of operatives. I'm not saying they aren't doing this days analysis, but where is the evidence? Doesn't history show that most often it's just simple leaks which are also dismissed out of hand?

        The first step would surely be for the US intelligence agencies to use the data they think China has (which surely they also have) and se

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by shanen ( 462549 )

          Well, the main reply to your original comment is something like "Yes, that's obvious, but that's the first thing 'our side' tries to block." In concrete terms, that's why the financial information is so crucial to (legitimate) security clearances.

          Regarding the capabilities of deep learning to spot the spies, I'm not in that loop, but I can point you at an old example of where they were headed about 5 or 10 years ago. https://personality-insights-d... [bluemix.net] is the entry point. I recommend clicking on the "Body of

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        Easy, arrogance on behalf of many US agencies and their contractors, led to many shortfalls, for profit leaks and real clumsiness and once that incompetence was established, any action could be held off, until more links had been exposed and monitored. As the USA used organised crime gangs in other countries, so contact with those gangs, exposed US agents (criminals do not stay bought). Expose one and you expose all those they contact and they expose all those whom they contact. Arrogance and casual incompe

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by shanen ( 462549 )

          Is your reply a form of Hanlon's razor? If so, I'm not sure how to interpret it for this context. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] Perhaps something like "Don't blame on Chinese malice what can be adequately explained by American incompetence"?

    • That seems like a complex explanation. How do they know the Chinese spooks aren't just using the tried and true method of bribing someone to pass on the names of CIA operatives?

      Because they have prior form in it and they were in possession of a good starting point data set - the Office of Personnel hack.

      From that they can just do continuous data trawling and only top it up with some stolen data from time to time.

      USA has tried to counter it. In fact, you can guess who is an obvious spook easily now - they have a social network profile, but it is unbelievably devoid of details, especially anything related to their "official" professions. Facebook, Google, etc are all providing t

  • So thank you China for exposing criminals! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ffkom ( 3519199 ) on Monday December 21, 2020 @12:02PM (#60853942)
    I guess we have to thank China for helping to expose state-funded criminals. Of course, hints from other countries to expose state-funded criminals, including those payed by China, are equally welcome.
    • Yes, how dare those nasty Chinese stop the CIA from sending spies and thugs to my country? - annoyed European

    • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

      by ultramagnus1 ( 2961225 )
      Yup, this article basically reads as "how dare those damn Chinese spy on us spying on them!"

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by ranton ( 36917 )

        Yup, this article basically reads as "how dare those damn Chinese spy on us spying on them!"

        The article doesn't read like that at all. It reads as someone stating how Chinese espionage is getting better and the CIA is less able to act with impunity as they were in previous decades. The article is quite clear that the US also tries to steal data from China too. There is no moral high ground here, which is appropriate when national security is being discussed. Just a description of the new reality the US and western nations are becoming accustomed to as China continues its rise in prominence.

        • I wouldn't say there is "no" moral high ground, though it may be a little thin. Western countries have mostly, though not always, had a fairly clear distinction between espionage for the sake of national security (treaty compliance, general infosec, threat identification) and industrial espionage (stealing company secrets to get a competitive edge in the market). China has maintained just enough of a communist system that these two things are not so distinct for them. This violates a basic tenet of weste

          • Western countries have mostly, though not always, had a fairly clear distinction between espionage for the sake of national security (treaty compliance, general infosec, threat identification) and industrial espionage (stealing company secrets to get a competitive edge in the market).

            What does this actually refer to? What would be some instances where the US was not competitive in some industry because the technology was only available overseas, and we couldn't figure it out, and exercised moral restrai

            • Well, examples abound. I suppose the best known is Huawei - US is behind in 5G, and all kinds of dirty tricks are deployed to slow Huawei down. Tiktok is the latest example of naked threat. See also Alstrom and others.

  • This is a job for Cyberspace Force! (Score:3)

    by shanen ( 462549 ) on Monday December 21, 2020 @12:10PM (#60853972) Homepage Journal

    I can't get the "Space Force" earworm out of my head. And I'm pretty sure I've never seen the movie, but only heard that snippet a few times.

    Anyway, there are also some good books on why we need a coherent cyberwar strategy. Richard Clarke wrote a good one a few years back, mostly summarizing offensive and defensive capabilities while considering relative vulnerability. A bit dated, but still describes the situation well. Short summary is that China appears to be the leader in cyberspace defense, largely because it meshes well with their objectives for controlling the Chinese population, while the United States, Israel, and Russia were the national leaders in offensive capabilities. Main changes since that book was published appear to be offensive improvements in such places as North Korea and Iran. But perhaps the most important part of the book was considering the vulnerabilities, as in America is #1 in weakness. Heavily dependent on computers, but without the ability to threaten ye olde MAD against the adversaries. It's not like anyone in Putin's Russia is sure his network will be working today.

    I think that this situation would actually justify a centralized Cyberspace Force. But that would have taken imagination lacking in "He whose name need not be spoken". And unfortunately the people with that sort of imagination in America are much too busy grubbing for money to help out.

  • NOC list? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mrobinso ( 456353 ) on Monday December 21, 2020 @12:11PM (#60853980) Homepage

    They got the NOC list after all?

    Those damn incompetent IMF bastards! Ethan! You're fired... get out.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Entrope ( 68843 )

      There's a Network Operations Center in San Jose, another outside Chicago, another in Ashburn... don't renew the International Monetary Fund's contract!

      • There's a Network Operations Center in San Jose, another outside Chicago, another in Ashburn... don't renew the International Monetary Fund's contract!

        Impossible Mission Force. Come on man. Lighten up. It's Christmas. :)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Entrope ( 68843 )

          According to LinkedIn, Ethan Hunt now works for the International Monetary Fund.... At least I got NOC right! (*ducks*)

          • Ah. Missed that. I consider that a demotion. Unless of course it's all a front to throw the Russians off.
            You never know with these guys...

  • Stolen? (Score:2)

    by PPH ( 736903 )

    I'd venture a guess that they bought location and call metadata fair and square from local telecoms and ISPs.

  • umm - is that a word now?

  • I think the author left it out.
    It should read Country 'illegally' spying on other country like all countries do 'stole' something that helped them do it better LOL !
    I mean seriously where is the news in the fact that China Spy's on our Spy's and we return the favor. I guess it is a bit interesting that all the 'big data' out there makes it harder to hide your spies. Maybe that is why Washington needs full control over all our large corporate DB's correct?

  • Just the other day, there were a number of trolls claiming that it was OK for CHina to listen in on Western calls because they would NEVER hurt westerners.
    Obviously, those are a combination of paid Chinese trolls as well as far lefties that are in DIRE need of more lithium.

  • I seem to recall, a few years back, an item about the federal government's personnel operation leaking their whole database, including the names, SS numbers, and departments of all the federal employees - CIA spooks and all.

    Does anyone remember that well enough to dig out a link?

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