Both nations are increasing their investments in their information gathering capacities as their relations with China have become more antagonistic.
According to a recent study, China’s intelligence services are making significant investments in open source intelligence to gain greater knowledge about the capabilities of the American military in the Pacific and elsewhere.
The report, conducted by threat intelligence firm Recorded Future, describes attempts made by the Chinese government and businesses to gather data from the Pentagon, think tanks, and private corporations that is publicly available. Beijing’s military can use this material to assist prepare for a possible battle with the US.
Beijing may have an advantage thanks to its open source intelligence gathering. Both nations are increasing their investments in their information gathering capacities as the US and China’s relationship has become more antagonistic. China may have an advantage in gathering intelligence on the US and its allies thanks to Beijing’s advances in big data management and information mining.
Because of its use of open-source intelligence, Beijing might have an advantage. As the relationship between the US and China has grown more hostile, both countries are boosting their investments in their information collecting capabilities. Thanks to Beijing’s advancements in big data management and information mining, China may have an advantage in gathering intelligence on the US and its allies.
China has made great strides in its ability to gather secret intelligence in recent years, and over the past 10 years, Beijing has increased its investment in open source data. The notion of open source intelligence is broad, but Recorded Future focused on data that the People’s Liberation Army of China’s intelligence services were using to aid in planning and military development.
In order to obtain a variety of open source data, including information regarding the US military and its activities defending Taiwan, Recorded Future has looked into contracts that the army has given to private Chinese enterprises.
Beijing may have access to much of the open source data it is mining through one of the Chinese spy agencies or another. However, the experts at Recorded Future claim that China’s intelligence services are cut off from one another and do not exchange information. Additionally, it might be simpler for some PLA intelligence units to create publicly available information regarding American capabilities than to ask a sister spy agency for sensitive information. Democracies face a challenge as a result of the open-source collection. Given the information the US and its allies make public, Recorded Future agrees that there are security risks; nonetheless, blocking widespread access to the data may not be the best solution.
Through one of the Chinese intelligence agencies or another, Beijing may have access to a large portion of the open source material it is mining. But according to Recorded Future’s specialists, China’s intelligence services are not connected to one another and do not share information. Additionally, it might be simpler for some PLA intelligence units to produce information about American capabilities that is accessible to the general public rather than request classified material from a sister spy agency.
The open source collection poses a problem for democracies. Recorded Future acknowledges that there are security dangers given the information the US and its allies make public; nonetheless, restricting mass access to the data may not be the wisest course of action.
