Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online dump of documents from a private security contractor linked to the nation’s top policing agency and other parts of its government — a trove that catalogs apparent hacking activity and tools to spy on both Chinese and foreigners.
Among the apparent targets of tools provided by the impacted company, I-Soon: ethnicities and dissidents in parts of China that have seen significant anti-government protests, such as Hong Kong or the heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang in China’s far west.
The dump of scores of documents late last week and subsequent investigation were confirmed by two employees of I-Soon, known as Anxun in Mandarin, which has ties to the powerful Ministry of Public Security. The dump, which analysts consider highly significant even if it does not reveal any especially novel or potent tools, includes hundreds of pages of contracts, marketing presentations, product manuals, and client and employee lists.
Yes. Americans in general are way too “China bad! Murica good!” to understand such obvious thoughts. Anyone who is concerned with Chinese spying, needs to temper their outrage when confronted with American spying. Specifically the Five Eyes nations and the intelligence sharing and spying that happens.
You can argue that spying is bad or good. Obviously you want your team to know everything and the other team to be in the dark. This only works in very unbalanced ways. When you have actual sovereign superpowers that aren’t the US, you better realize they’re doing what you’re doing.
And then ask yourself who would you rather have all your information? Billy Bob at the NSA who can see and control everything you do in your life in America or Xi Wang in China that doesn’t give a flying crap about anything you do except if you plan to visit China and start protesting…