Chinese intelligence operations in the United States
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The
People's Republic of China (PRC) is alleged to undertake a widespread effort to acquire U.S.
military technology and
classified information[citation needed]. To fulfill its long-term military development goals, the PRC uses a variety of methods to obtain U.S. technology -- including
espionage, the exploitation of commercial entities, and a network of scientific, academic, and business contacts.
[1]
The Chinese operate in ways that take advantage of U.S. laws to avoid
prosecution. The PRC uses a vast network of agents and contacts to
collect pieces of information that are collated and put together in the
PRC. Often each individual piece is not enough to warrant any suspicion
or prosecution from U.S. government personnel. The aggressiveness of
Chinese penetration is well documented in multiple espionage cases
including those of
Larry Wu-Tai Chin,
Katrina Leung, Gwo-Bao Min,
Chi Mak, and Peter Lee.
[2][3]
In addition to traditional espionage, the PRC uses civilian companies
to partner with American businesses in order to acquire advanced
technology and economic data.
[4]
Additionally, the PRC utilizes cyber-espionage to penetrate the
computer networks of U.S. businesses and government agencies. This is
evidenced by a recent Chinese
cyber-attack on Google's computer systems in December 2009.
[5]
PRC intelligence operations in the United States have become so
pervasive that U.S. law enforcement officials have identified China as
the most active foreign power involved in illegal acquisition of
American technology.
[6]
High profile Chinese spy cases in US media have raised concerns to civil rights groups about
racial profiling Chinese Americans,
Asian Americans, or immigrants of Chinese origin for being
spies, especially after the high profile "Chinese espionage" case against
Wen Ho Lee fallen apart.
[7] [8]
Methods
The PRC utilizes a variety of methods to operate in the United States.
[9]
The individuals attempt to acquire the targeted information by
utilizing open sources such as libraries, research institutions and
unclassified databases.
[9]
In addition to co-opting Chinese travelers to carry out specific
intelligence operational activities, the PRC often debriefs Chinese
scientists who participate in scholarly exchange programs, or who attend
trade missions, scientific cooperation programs and other similar
events.
[10] Moreover, the character of the Chinese political system allows the state great power to compel Chinese citizens to cooperate.
[11]
Consequently, the PRC is able to utilize a vast network of contacts
recruited to collect and steal intelligence on cutting edge U.S.
technologies, including the most sensitive military developments.
Partnerships are started between Chinese civilian companies and
foreign companies in order to give Chinese defense industries access to
advanced technologies.
[12]
The regulatory and commercial environment in China places intense
pressure on American and other foreign companies to transfer technology
to their Chinese partner companies as part of doing business in the PRC.
[12]
In order to remain globally competitive, foreign companies are almost
always willing to provide technology, capital, and manufacturing
expertise in order to obtain access to Chinese markets.
[12] High-technology equipment is also purchased by PRC recruited agents running front companies in Hong Kong.
[10][12] Some of the items acquired are dual-use components, which can be used for both military or civilian purposes.
[13] These items may include computers, semiconductors, software, telecommunications devices, and integrated circuits.
[12]
Furthermore, the PRC will use Chinese state-run firms to outright
purchase American companies with access to the targeted technology.
[10]
The PRC also accesses restricted foreign technology through
industrial espionage.
[12]
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have rated China's
industrial espionage and theft operations as the leading threat to the
security of U.S. technology.
[14]
Between October 2002 and January 2003 five Chinese businessmen were
accused of illegally shipping equipment and trade secrets from
California to China.
[9]
U.S. Officials were able to prevent one Chinese man from shipping a
recently purchased high-speed computer from Sandia National
Laboratories, which had been used on classified projects including the
development of nuclear weapons.
[9]
Nuclear espionage
A 1999 report of the United States House of Representatives Select
Committee on U.S. National Security and Military and Commercial Concerns
with the People's Republic of China, known as the
Cox Report,
warned that the PRC has stolen classified information on every
thermonuclear warhead in the U.S. ICBM (intercontinental ballistic
missile) arsenal.
[15]
Information is collected through espionage, as well as through rigorous
reviews of U.S. technical and academic publications, and pervasive
interaction with U.S. scientists.
[16]
The PRC tasks a large number of individuals to collect small pieces of
information which is then collated and analyzed in the PRC.
[16]
In this way, individual PRC agents can more easily escape suspicion
while carrying out their operations in the United States. U.S.
Government personnel suspect that the PRC's intelligence collection
efforts directed towards the development of modern nuclear weapons to be
focused primarily on the Los Alamos, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, and
Oak Ridge National Laboratories.
[16]
The PRC is known to have stolen classified information on the following
warheads: the W-56 Minuteman II ICBM, the W-62 Minuteman III ICBM, the
W-70 Lance short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), the W-76 Trident C-4
submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), the W-78 Minuteman III Mark
12A ICBM, the W-87 Peacekeeper ICBM, and the W-88 Trident D-5 SLBM. The
PRC also has stolen classified information on U.S. weapons design
concepts, weaponization features, and warhead reentry vehicles.
[17]
Cyber warfare
The PRC operates a political and corporate espionage effort directed
towards accessing the networks of major financial, defense and
technology companies, and research institutions in the United States.
[18]
PRC efforts involve exploiting security flaws in software, and email
attachments to sneak into the networks of important U.S. companies and
organizations.
[18]
An example of such an attack, is a recipient opening an email
attachment that seems to be from a familiar source. The attachment
contains a "sleeper" program that embeds in the recipient's computer.
The program is controlled remotely, allowing the attacker to access the
recipient's email, send sensitive documents to specific addresses, and
even turn on a web camera or microphone to record what is happening in
the room.
[18]
In January 2010, Google reported, "a highly sophisticated and
targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China
that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google."
[19]
According to investigators, the Google cyberattack was directed towards
the company's password system that millions of people use to access
Google's various web services, including email and business
applications.
[19] The attack targeted the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.
[19]
In addition to Google, at least 34 companies have been attacked
including Yahoo, Symantec, Adobe, Northrop Grumman, and Dow Chemical.
[18]
In January 2013
The New York Times
reported that it had been the victim of hacking attempts originating
from China over the previous four months after it had published an
article on
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
The newspaper elaborated that the "attacks appear to be part of a
broader computer espionage campaign against American news media
companies that have reported on Chinese leaders and corporations."
[20]
Chinese cyberattacks seem to have largely targeted strategic industries in which China is lagging.
[18]
Specifically, attacks on defense companies target information on
weapons systems, and attacks on technology companies seek valuable
source code which is critical to software applications.
[18] Chinese cyberattacks
have emphasized what senior U.S. Government officials have said is an
increasingly serious cyber threat to U.S. critical industries.
[18]
Spy cases
Larry Wu-Tai Chin
Larry Wu-Tai Chin
worked in the U.S. intelligence community for close to 35 years, all
the while providing the PRC with sensitive classified information.
[21]
Chin was recruited as a spy by a Chinese Communist Official in 1948,
while he was employed as an interpreter at the U.S. Consulate in
Shanghai.
[2]
Chin was later hired by the CIA’s Foreign Broadcast Information Service
office. After becoming an American Citizen in 1965, Chin was
transferred to Arlington, Virginia, where he had access to highly
sensitive information; including reports from intelligence agents
abroad, and translations of documents acquired by CIA Officers in China.
[2] In addition, Chin sold highly classified National Intelligence Estimates pertaining to China and Southeast Asia to the PRC.
[2]
Consequently, the PRC was able to uncover weaknesses in their
intelligence agencies, and compromise U.S. intelligence activities in
the region. Among the most damaging information Chin compromised, was
highly sensitive information regarding President Nixon’s plans for
normalizing relations with China two years before President Nixon
traveled to China. In February 1986, Larry Wu-Tai Chin was finally
convicted of 17 counts of espionage, conspiracy, and tax evasion.
[2]
Katrina Leung
In 1982 FBI Special Agent James Smith recruited
Leung, then a 28-year-old immigrant from China, to work in Chinese counterespionage.
[22]
Leung, a prominent business consultant, was seen as especially valuable
due to the many contacts she had with high level officials in the
Chinese Government.
[2] Smith and Leung became involved in a long-term sexual affair lasting nearly two decades.
[22]
During this time, Smith made classified documents available to Leung,
who was able to surreptitiously make copies of multiple classified
documents.
[22] Leung was able to provide the PRC with information on nuclear, military, and political issues.
[23] Another FBI agent, William Cleveland, also became sexually involved with Leung.
[22]
Leung was able to exploit her personal relationships with her FBI
handlers and provide the PRC with highly sensitive information for 18
years.
Lee was a Chinese born physicist who worked at Los Alamos nuclear
weapons laboratory, and later for TRW, a major California defense
contractor. Lee pleaded guilty to lying on Security Clearance forms, and
to passing classified national defense information to Chinese
scientists on business trips to Beijing.
[24] Lee compromised classified weapons information, microwave submarine detection technology, and other national defense data.
[2]
Later the Department of Energy concluded that Lee's disclosure of
classified information, "was of significant material assistance to the
PRC in their nuclear weapons development program...This analysis
indicated that Dr. Lee's activities have directly enhanced the PRC
nuclear weapons program to the detriment of U.S. national security."
[2]
Chi Mak
Chi Mak is a Chinese-born engineer who worked for L-3 Communications, a California based defense contractor.
[3] Chi worked as a support engineer on Navy quiet drive propulsion technology.
[3]
According to recovered documents, Chi was instructed by his Chinese
contacts to join "more professional associations and participate in more
seminars with 'special subject matters' and to compile special
conference materials on disk."
[3]
Specifically, Chi was to seek information on: space-based
electromagnetic intercept systems, space-launched magnetic levitation
platforms, electromagnetic gun or artillery systems, submarine
torpedoes, electromagnetic launch systems, aircraft carrier electronic
systems, water jet propulsion, ship submarine propulsion, power system
configuration technology, weapons system modularization, technologies to
defend against nuclear attack, shipboard electromagnetic motor systems,
shipboard internal and external communications systems, and information
on the next generation of US destroyers.
[3]
Chi Mak was able to successfully secretly copy and send various
sensitive documents on U.S. Navy ships, submarines and weapons to China
via courier. In 2008, Chi was sentenced to a 24 and 1/2 year prison term
for his espionage activities.
[25]
Ko-Suen "Bill" Moo
Ko-Suen Moo
was convicted of being a covert agent of the People's Republic of China
in May 2006. He attempted to purchase United States military equipment
to send back to China but was arrested by undercover United States
agents. Some of the equipment Mr. Moo tried to purchase included an F-16
fighter jet engine, an AGM-129A cruise missile, UH-60 Black Hawk
helicopter engines, and AIM-120 air-to-air missiles.
[citation needed]
Wen Ho Lee
Wen Ho Lee
is a Taiwanese American scientist who worked for the University of
California at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He created simulations
of nuclear explosions for the purposes of scientific inquiry, as well
as for improving the safety and reliability of the US nuclear arsenal. A
federal grand jury indicted him of stealing secrets about the U.S.
nuclear arsenal for the People's Republic of China (PRC) in December
1999.
After federal investigators were unable to prove these initial
accusations, the government conducted a separate investigation and was
ultimately only able to charge Lee with improper handling of restricted
data, one of the original 59 indictment counts, to which he pleaded
guilty as part of a plea settlement. In June 2006, Lee received $1.6
million from the federal government and five media organizations as part
of a settlement of a civil suit he had filed against them for leaking
his name to the press before any formal charges had been filed against
him. Federal judge James A. Parker eventually apologized to Lee for
denying him bail and putting him in solitary confinement, and excoriated
the government for misconduct and misrepresentations to the court.
Bo Jiang
Bo Jiang, a researcher working on "source code for high technology imaging" at
NASA's
Langley Research Center, was arrested under the charge of lying to federal officer on March 16, 2013 at
Dulles International Airport
before he was on his planned one-way trip to return to China.
Allegedly, Jiang told FBI that he was carrying fewer computer storage
devices than he really was. He has been accused of espionage by
Representative
Frank Wolf, and is under investigation for possible violations of the
Arms Export Control Act.
[26] An affidavit claimed that on a prior occasion, Jiang had taken a NASA laptop containing sensitive information to China.
[27]
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard ordered Jiang released after a
federal prosecutor acknowledged there is no evidence so far that he
possessed any sensitive, secret or classified material.
[27] Jiang's lawyer says congressman is making "scapegoat" of his client and a subject of witch hunt.
[28]
Hua Jun Zhao
Hua Jun Zhao, 42, may have stolen a cancer-research compound from a
Medical College office in Milwaukee and taken steps to deliver it to
Zhejiang University, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent’s affidavit in support of a criminal complaint dated March 29.
[29]
Chinese intelligence-gathering agencies
Ministry of State Security（中华人民共和国国家安全部）: Formerly a bureau under the Ministry of Public Security, it was raised to Ministry status in June 1983.
[30] MSS is the principal Chinese agency responsible for intelligence collection and counterintelligence.
[9]
According to Western intelligence sources, MSS operates intelligence
activities in more than 170 cities in close to 50 countries through its
Foreign Affairs Bureau.
[9]
MSS reach beyond China allows it to pursue Chinese dissidents in
foreign countries and establish cover for Chinese diplomats and agents
who are planted among the 15,000 Chinese students who attend U.S.
universities, as well as thousands of Chinese who travel to the U.S. as
business representatives, or members of scientific, academic, and
cultural delegations.
[9]
People's Liberation Army: Intelligence elements of the PLA include: Second Department or Intelligence Department（of
People's Liberation Army General Staff Department，
总参二部）, Third or Electronic Warfare Department（总参三部）, Fourth Department
(focuses on information warfare)（总参四部）, General Armaments Department and
General Logistics Department (both of which train technical
collectors)（总装备部及总后勤部）, and the PLA General Political Department（总政治部）.
[11]
Political Legal Leading Group（政法委）: Chinese Communist Party
agency under the party's Military Commission (responsible for internal
order), whose responsibilities include overseeing intelligence and law
enforcement regarding internal affairs.
[9]
Investigations Department（监察部）: Chinese Communist Party agency that is responsible for political investigations of party members.
[9]
United Front Works Department（统战部）: Chinese Communist Party
agency that is responsible for handling Chinese who are living in other
countries and who are usually citizens of other countries. Works
Department personnel are stationed in Chinese embassies and consulates,
and attempt to influence important people of Chinese ancestry to follow
Chinese Communist Party direction.
[9]
Works Department Agents also keep an eye on Chinese academics and
scientists working in other countries and make sure they eventually go
back home to China.
[9]
The Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense（国
防科工委）: Sends agents to foreign countries, including the United States,
as employees of front organizations to purchase defense equipment and
technologies restricted for export. Examples of Chinese cover
organizations include, New Era Corp.,
Chinese International Trust and Investment Corp., and Poly Technologies.
[9]
Various case histories
- In 2007, McAfee, Inc. alleged that China
was actively involved in "cyberwar." China was accused of cyber-attacks
on India, Germany, and the United States, although China denied
knowledge of these attacks. China has the highest number of computers
vulnerable to be controlled, owing at least partially to the large
population.[clarification needed][citation needed]
- A September 2007 estimate by former senior U.S. information security
official Paul Strassmann claimed that 735,598 computers in the US were
"infested with Chinese zombies"; infected computers would potentially create a botnet capable of carrying out unsophisticated, but potentially dangerous denial-of-service attacks.[31]
- On March 28, 2009, a cyber spy network, dubbed GhostNet,
using servers mainly based in China has tapped into classified
documents from government and private organizations in 103 countries,
including the computers of Tibetan exiles,[32][33] but China denies the claim.[34][35]
- In December 2009 through January 2010, a cyber attack, dubbed Operation Aurora, was launched from China against Google and over 20 other companies.[36]
Google said the attacks originated from China and that it would "review
the feasibility" of its business operations in China following the
incident. According to Google, at least 20 other companies in various
sectors had been targeted by the attacks. McAfee spokespersons claim
that "this is the highest profile attack of its kind that we have seen
in recent memory."[37]
Impact on Chinese/Asian Americans
High profile Chinese spy cases in US media have raised concerns to civil rights groups about
racial profiling Chinese Americans,
Asian Americans, or immigrants of Chinese origin for being
spies. In the prominent case targeting
Wen Ho Lee,
Dr. Lee's lawyers say the scientist had been unfairly singled out by
government investigators because of his ethnic background.
[7] [38]
See also
References
- ^ deGraffenreid, p. 30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Global Security. "Ministry of State Security Operations." (accessed March 11, 2010).
- ^ a b c d e Wortzel, p. 6.
- ^ Wortzel, p. 9.
- ^ Helft, Miguel and John Markoff, "In Rebuke of China, Focus Falls on Cybersecuirty," The New York Times, January 13, 2010.
- ^ Wortzel, p. 8.
- ^ a b "Racial Bias in the Wen Ho Lee Case?", PBS.org, Dec. 14, 1999
- ^ "Charged With Being Ethnic Chinese", Pacific News Service, August 18, 2000
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Polmar, Norman and Thomas B. Allen, Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage, Second Edition, (New York, NY: Random House Reference, 2004), p. 125.
- ^ a b c Eftimiades, p. 28.
- ^ a b Wortzel, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e f Wortzel, p. 4.
- ^ Wortzel, p. 3.
- ^ U.S. Department of Defense, Annual Report to Congress on the Military Power of the People's Republic of China, (Washington, DC: July 2007), p. 29.
- ^ deGraffenreid, p. 99.
- ^ a b c deGraffenreid, p. 98.
- ^ deGraffenreid, p. 100.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cha, Ariana Eunjung and Ellen Nakashima, "Google China cyberattack part of vast espionage campaign, experts say," The Washington Post, January 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Google cyberattack hit password system – NY Times," Reuters, April 19, 2010.
- ^ Perlroth, Nicole (2013-01-30). "Hackers in China Attacked The Times for Last 4 Months". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
- ^ Eftimiades, p. 21.
- ^ a b c d "They let her clean the China," The Economist, May 15, 2003.
- ^ Lichtblau, Eric, "F.B.I. Was Told Years Ago Of Possible Double Agent," The New York Times, April 12, 2003.
- ^ Polmar, Norman and Thomas B. Allen, Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage, Second Edition, (New York, NY: Random House Reference, 2004).
- ^ Warrick, Joby and Carrie Johnson, "Chinese Spy 'Slept' In U.S. for 2 Decades," The Washington Post, April 3, 2008.
- ^ Lambidakis, Stephanie (19). "Update: NASA researcher arrested on China-bound plane". CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ a b Howard, Jacqueline (18). "Bo Jiang, Former NASA Contractor, Arrested By FBI On Plane To China". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ Dujardin, Peter (21). "Attorney: Former NASA contractor subject of 'witch hunt'". Daily Press. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ Wisconsin Researcher Accused of Economic Spying for China
- ^ Eftimiades, p. 17.
- ^ Waterman, Shaun (17 September 2007). "China 'has .75M zombie computers' in U.S.". United Press International. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ AP: Researchers: Cyber spies break into govt computers
- ^ CTV News: Video clip
- ^ Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang's Remarks on the So-called Chinese Cyber-Spy Ring Invading Computers in Countries
- ^ embassy scoffs at reports of cyber spying
- ^ "A new approach to China". Google Inc. 2010-01-12. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
- ^ "Google Attack Is Tip Of Iceberg", McAfee Security Insights, Jan. 13, 2010
- ^ "The Prosecution Unravels: The Case of Wen Ho Lee", nytimes.com, Feb. 5, 2001
