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In Depth

Nation States' Espionage and Counterespionage

An overview of the 2007 Global Economic Espionage Landscape

By Christopher Burgess

Page 8

Evans' earlier warning call was re-emphasized in late-November, when he issued a letter, from the perspective of the CPNI, urging British businesses to check their information technology defenses in the face of a concerted cyber-espionage effort being undertaken against UK business interests by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The letter noted how, "The activity has led them [CPNI and MI5] to believe that there is a serious and concerted attempt at electronic espionage through every sinew of British industry."

China's in France's business, as well

In mid-September 2007, the secretary general of France's National Defense Office, Francis Delon, confirmed that France had been experiencing similar attacks as those experienced by the U.S. and the UK from China. Delon noted how the Chinese had successfully penetrated the outer levels of the state computer systems. "We have proof that there is involvement with China," he said. But I am prudent. When I say China, this does not mean the Chinese government. We don't have any indication now that it was done by the Chinese People's Liberation Army."

Then in late November 2007, a Chinese trainee at a French auto manufacturer, Valeo, was set to go to trial on the charges that she came to Valeo with the intent to obtain secret commercial and technical information. The trainee's activities were discovered by the new Economic Intelligence Unit which was created in 2005 to assist businesses in fighting industrial espionage. Investigators discovered two files on the trainee's computer. The first, codenamed PL4, involving a project with BMW, and the second, X95, involved work for Renault. Investigators also found a secret list of Valeo's production plans in China.

This apparent use of the intern by the Chinese government to assist an indigenous competitor to Valeo brings to the forefront some fundamental questions, including how deep a background check can be for a student without work experience and whether temporary employees are allowed system access at the same level of their full-time and established colleagues.

Czech Republic notes Russia in its business

As many as half the Russian personnel assigned to the Russian Embassy in Prague are believed to be intelligence officers, according to the information presented in the annual counterintelligence report submitted by the Security Information Service (BIS), the Czech Republic's counterintelligence security service, in late November 2007. The report went on to say that some Russian intelligence officers are operating as journalists within the Czech Republic. "The Russian side wants to achieve and maintain an advantageous position in Czech-Russian economic relations and gain control over Czech entities seeking to enter the Russian markets," the report says. Russia has shown an interest in the Czech nuclear, chemical and biological research.