Lithuania security services warn of China’s espionage against the country

Lithuania security services warn of China’s espionage against the country

A report published by Lithuanian security services warned that China has escalated its espionage operations against Lithuania.

A report released by Lithuanian security services has cautioned that China has intensified espionage activities targeting Lithuania.

Previously, the government of Beijing was interested in information about the ‘five poisons’ (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Falun Gong) as well as Lithuania’s role in the EU and NATO.

The Chinese government now employed local spies and carried out cyber espionage operations to gather intelligence on the country’s internal affairs and foreign policy.

Recently the Chinese government has focused on gathering information on Lithuanian national elections, both presidential and parliamentary as well as the European Parliament election.

“Chinese intelligence services have also increased cyber espionage against Lithuania. Cyber actors affiliated with China regularly conduct vulnerability scans of networks of Lithuanian government institutions with the aim of penetrating their networks and exfiltrating data. In recent years, intelligence requirements of Chinese intelligence services for information related to Lithuania have changed. Previously, China was mostly interested in information about the ‘five poisons’ (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Falun Gong) as well as Lithuania’s role in the EU and NATO. Currently, Chinese intelligence priorities have shifted towards Lithuania’s internal affairs, political divisions, and foreign policy.” reads the report published by Lithuanian security services. “In the short term, Chinese intelligence services likely will seek to collect information on Lithuanian national elections, both presidential and parliamentary as well as the European Parliament election.”

China intensifies its intelligence campaigns against Lithuania from its territory. The cyberspies are increasingly using social networks to establish and maintain contact with potential targets as well as cyber espionage against Lithuania.

Persons of interest include individuals who may have direct access to sensitive information or a wide network of contacts, including officials, politicians, journalists, business people, scientists who can be used as intermediaries in intelligence operations.

Lithuanian security services also reported that Chinese intelligence is likely to approach Lithuanian citizens during their visits to countries in Southeast Asia, where there is no strict counter-intelligence regime, thus creating favorable conditions for Chinese intelligence to operate. 

According to the report, the Chinese intelligence also employed a network of Chinese scientists working abroad for espionage purposes.

“Due to the obligation to cooperate with Chinese intelligence, Chinese scientists and students working or interning abroad become potential targets of Chinese intelligence”, the agencies said. “China is expanding its cyber-intelligence capabilities against Lithuania. Cyber espionage groups associated with China regularly scan the networks of Lithuanian state institutions for breaches and seek to infiltrate their networks to intercept information and data.”

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Lithuania)