Chinese Espionage in Britain of ‘Epic Scale,’ MI5 Head Warns

British businesses need to be aware of the “epic scale” of Chinese espionage, the head of the United Kingdom’s security agency MI5 warned on October 18. More than 20,000 people in the UK have been approached by online Chinese spies, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said during a public meeting of the Five Eyes in California.

Security heads from the United States, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand attended the summit to discuss the risk of Chinese firms stealing commercial secrets. McCallum said MI5 had seen more than 20 Chinese firms try to access sensitive technology developed at British universities and companies. Tens of thousands of British firms are at potential risk of Chinese infiltration, he warned.

Security risks: China’s stealing research in cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence is not only dangerous for a company’s profits but also for the future of Western countries, McCallum said. Other members of the Five Eyes alliance echoed his concern.

China has made economic espionage and stealing other’s work and ideas a central component of its national strategy, and that espionage is at the expense of innovators in all five of our countries. That threat has only gotten more dangerous and more insidious in recent years.
—Chris Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Overlooked vulnerability: Dependence on technology is an often overlooked vulnerability in the West, affecting not only businesses but also military capabilities. Ezekiel 7:14 describes one aspect of God’s punishment on the modern nations of Israel (which includes the Five Eyes’ nations): “They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof” (verse 14).

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has explained that this alarming scripture is about a future time when our military technology will be hijacked by our enemies. “Nobody goes to battle—even though the trumpet is blown! Will it be because of a computer terrorist?” he wrote.

Learn more: Read “China Hacks America—and ‘None Goes to Battle.’”