UK accuses China of using academics to spy on AI and other tech research
Britain’s MI5 spy agency issued an unprecedented alert on Wednesday to warn that a Chinese organisation was involved in funding academic research into topics such as AI on behalf of Beijing’s state security service. In its “Espionage Alert”, MI5 said more than 100 UK-based academics had contributed to projects funded by the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), which had “very…
Britain's MI5 warned on Wednesday that a Chinese organization funded academic research on AI, cybersecurity, covert communications, and steganography on behalf of Beijing's state security service. Over 100 UK-based academics had contributed to projects financed by the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), which had strong ties to China's civilian intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).
MI5 stated that CGTRI's primary purpose was to enhance MSS technical capabilities for espionage. The warning is the first time MI5 has publicly published an alert, highlighting tensions between British security concerns and the UK's efforts to strengthen ties with China. China's embassy in Britain called the allegations "imaginary and purely fabricated" and demanded MI5 stop spreading falsehoods.
MI5 noted that many academics were unaware of CGTRI's ties to the MSS and would now face prosecution under Britain's National Security Act if they continued engaging with the organization. Security Minister Dan Jarvis directed all university leaders in Britain to sever ties with CGTRI and warned that the alert exposed attempts by Chinese intelligence to exploit academic expertise for espionage, posing a threat to national and allied security.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
