- cross-posted to:
- world@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- world@lemmy.world
Hostile spy agencies are now as focused on infiltrating western universities and companies as they are on doing so to governments, according to the former head of Canada’s intelligence service.
David Vigneault warned that a recent “industrial-scale” attempt by China to steal new technologies showed the need for increased vigilance from academics.
"The frontline has moved, from being focused on government information to private sector innovation, research innovation and universities,” he told the Guardian in his first interview since leaving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which is part of the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing alliance with the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Vigneault said China’s leadership had been on a long programme of military regeneration after being horrified by how swiftly the US army took over Iraq in 2003.
Beijing decided to invest in “asymmetric capabilities” and steal as much technical knowledge as possible from the west.
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He dismissed criticism from some researchers that the rules were too restrictive and could stymie academic excellence and openness. “You cannot imagine that you work in isolation. You’re not living on an island and doing pure research for the good of humanity,” he said.
Get fucked guy. Universities are not component organizations of the national security state. It’s not anywhere in their motivation to keep certain countries from learning things. If you want to do research that should be kept secret, hire a private company or stand up your own research institution designed for that purposes, don’t try to coopt universities into being an arm of the security state.
Totally agree with you.
I think it’s a losing battle to argue that universities shouldn’t have some basic protections in place for unpublished/proprietary/underdeveloped research*, but this guy implicitly takes that way too far.
War research—if it should exist at all—should be done at war colleges. The U.S. has the Naval War College, the Army War College, the Air Force University, USMC War College, and the National War College. Canada has three RMC campuses and the CFC.
*Obviously assuming it’s not publicly funded research, else the Uni should refund grant monies for programs that don’t publish their findings.
The frontline has moved, from being focused on government information to private sector innovation, research innovation and universities […]
What a way for that guy to muddy the waters. Research innovation at publicly subsidized universities is the same as government infiltration if the research in question is government-funded miltech.
Vigneault highlighted Beijing as the main culprit, saying it was using a combination of cyber-attacks, infiltrated agents and recruitment among university staff to acquire sensitive technologies.
Ah, there it is. He won’t say it bluntly, but the problem is that the PLA is essentially stealing missile tech and/or CBW research “that we totally weren’t planning to use for miltech, guys.” (/s)
Speaking as an American, maybe we wouldn’t have to worry so much about Chinese infiltration and theft of university-derived missile/robo tech if Lockeed (& ilk) weren’t constantly sponsoring student competitions as an avenue for recruitment.
If not valid military intelligence target, why military intelligence target shaped? :/
ETA:
University staff were recruited by foreign powers based on either naivety, ideology or greed, he said.
Have they tried paying in another currency other than peanuts?
Perhaps also stop giving stipends to Chinese students solely based on their grades when they essentially get them for free.
Get what for free? Get stipends for free?
Are you saying things like Fulbright/AAUW should be more than merit based?
They get their good grades for free. Then have no competition getting stipends based on these grades alone, while other countries don’t just hand out 100 % willy nilly.
I mean that was referenced in Die Another Day back in 2002. North Korean operatives being schooled at Western Universities.
I suppose they’d have ample placements in the current political climate.
Wait wut? This article wants me to be upset at Chinese students for *checks notes* going to school at our universities and applying the knowledge they fairly learned in their home countries? And I’m supposed to consider this “stealing technical knowledge”??
You can stop your mental gymnastics and just read the article, tankie
I already read the article. I basically stand by my comment. Also are you seriously calling me a tankie for pushing back against a piece of obvious sinophobic fearmongering? Because I’m an anarchist, not a tankie 🏴🏴🏴
Maybe you should read the article instead of your notes
The only thing in this article that even remotely contradicts my summary is
He said he said (sic lmao) seen “the full spectrum” of approaches – from cyber-attacks to “people who are infiltrated into programmes, get the information and bring it back”.
which yeah, I’m sure a nation-state like China is doing cyber-attacks on our institutions as all the big nation-states do, and no nation-states should be doing that (or just existing at all 🏴🏴🏴), but like…all your scientific artifacts should be available to the public regardless of nationality anyways, i.e. academics have no business keeping secrets. So unless they’re going and making life Hell for researchers, I really don’t give a fuck if China’s national security apparatus is antagonizing USA’s national security apparatus because I see any national security apparatus as enemies of humanity.
Otherwise, the article is just sinophobic fearmongering about Chinese people gaining knowledge at scale.
Not once does it say anything about what students are doing.
Nation states shouldn’t exist? National security is the enemy of humanity?
Damn bro hook me up with your acid supplier, mine is obviously far weaker.
Damn bro hook me up with your acid supplier, mine is obviously far weaker.
That’s a lot of statements, are any of them correct?
