UK accuses China of using academics to spy on AI and other tech research

Britain’s MI5 spy agency issued an unprecedented alert on ​Wednesday to warn that a Chinese organization was involved in funding academic research into topics such as AI on behalf ‌of Beijing’s state security service.

In its “Espionage Alert”, MI5 said more than 100 UK-based academics had contributed to projects funded by the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), which had “very strong ties” to the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), Beijing’s civilian intelligence service.

“MI5 has identified that the primary purpose of CGTRI is to fund academic research that directly ​improves MSS technical capability for espionage,” the alert said.

“UK academics have contributed to CGTRI-funded projects on topics including Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, covert ​communications systems and steganography. This activity supports MSS espionage, which poses a threat to UK national security.”

Steganography is the ⁠practice of hiding information within messages or objects.

The warning, which MI5 said was the first time it had independently published an alert publicly, is ​the latest in a series of accusations concerning Chinese espionage activities, and highlights the tension between British security concerns and the government’s moves to ​build ties with Beijing.

China’s embassy in Britain described the allegations as “imaginary and purely fabricated”.

“We firmly oppose such baseless allegations and have lodged solemn representations with the UK side,” an embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

“We urge the UK intelligence authorities to stop spreading falsehoods and stop undermining educational exchanges and research cooperation between China and the UK.”

MI5 said many academics and institutions would have engaged in good faith with the CGTRI, which it said was sometimes ​translated as the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT), without knowing of its close ties to the MSS.

But it said those who continued to do so would now ‌risk prosecution ⁠under Britain’s National Security Act, which was passed in 2023 to give greater powers to target foreign spying and hostile state activities.

Security minister Dan Jarvis said he had written to all university chiefs in Britain to ensure staff ended any relationship with the Chinese organization.

“This alert exposes attempts by Chinese intelligence to covertly benefit from the expertise and research of our academics, undermining our national security, and that of our allies,” he said in a ​statement.

“International partnerships are vital to ensure ​our universities and research institutes ⁠continue to thrive, but we will take robust action to defend against the threats we face.”

Britain’s relationship with China has become increasingly complicated in recent years.

On the one hand, the British government has sought better relations with ​Beijing to improve trade ties and approved plans for China to build its latest embassy in Europe in London, but ​it has also ⁠repeatedly warned of Chinese spying efforts and attempts to undermine UK democracy.

Last year, Ken McCallum, MI5’s director-general, said Chinese spies posed a daily national security threat, and were creating fake job adverts to try to lure British professionals into handing over information.

His agency also issued an alert to British lawmakers last November that Chinese agents were ⁠targeting them ​to collect information and influence their activity by posing as headhunters or companies.

In June, security ​agencies from the “Five Eyes” alliance of the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand published a warning about Chinese spies aggressively using online job platforms to recruit people with access to ​sensitive information.

China’s London embassy said that warning was “entirely fabricated and constitutes malicious slander”.

英国军情五处周三发出前所未有的警报，警告称一家中国组织代表北京国家安全部门资助人工智能等课题的学术研究。

英国军情五处在其“间谍警报”中表示，100 多名英国学者参与了由中国通用技术研究院（CGTRI）资助的项目，而该研究院与中国国家安全部（MSS，北京的民用情报机构）有着“非常紧密的联系”。

“军情五处已确定，CGTRI 的主要目的是资助学术研究，从而直接提高英国国家安全局的间谍技术能力，”警报称。

“英国学者参与了由CGTRI资助的项目，研究课题包括人工智能（AI）、网络安全、秘密通信系统和隐写术。这些活动支持了MSS的间谍活动，对英国国家安全构成威胁。”

隐写术是将信息隐藏在消息或对象中的做法。

英国军情五处称，这是该机构首次独立公开发布警报，也是一系列有关中国间谍活动的指控中的最新一起，凸显了英国安全顾虑与政府加强与北京关系举措之间的紧张关系。

中国驻英国大使馆称这些指控“纯属虚构和捏造”。

“我们坚决反对这种毫无根据的指控，并已向英方提出严正交涉，”大使馆发言人在一份声明中表示。

“我们敦促英国情报部门停止散布谣言，停止破坏中英之间的教育交流和科研合作。”

英国军情五处表示，许多学者和机构在与中国通用技术研究院（CGTRI，有时也被译为中国通用技术研究院）进行合作时，并不知道该研究院与中国国家安全部（MSS）有着密切联系。

但该机构表示，继续这样做的人现在将面临根据英国《国家安全法》被起诉的风险。该法于 2023 年通过，旨在赋予英国更大的权力来打击外国间谍活动和敌对国家活动。

安全部长丹·贾维斯表示，他已致函英国所有大学校长，确保教职员工终止与该中国组织的任何关系。

他在一份声明中说：“这一警报揭露了中国情报部门企图秘密利用我们学者的专业知识和研究成果，从而破坏我们以及我们盟友的国家安全。”

“国际合作对于确保我们的大学和研究机构继续蓬勃发展至关重要，但我们将采取强有力的行动来抵御我们面临的威胁。”

近年来，英国与中国的关系变得日益复杂。

一方面，英国政府寻求与北京改善关系，以加强贸易联系，并批准了中国在伦敦建造其在欧洲的最新大使馆的计划；但另一方面，英国政府也多次警告中国从事间谍活动，并试图破坏英国的民主。

去年，英国军情五处处长肯·麦卡勒姆表示，中国间谍对英国国家安全构成日常威胁，他们炮制虚假招聘广告，试图引诱英国专业人士交出信息。

他的机构去年 11 月还向英国议员发出警报，称中国特工冒充猎头或公司，以收集信息和影响英国议员的活动为目标。

今年6月，由美国、英国、加拿大、澳大利亚和新西兰组成的“五眼联盟”的安全机构发布警告，称中国间谍正积极利用在线招聘平台招募能够接触敏感信息的人员。

中国驻伦敦大使馆表示，该警告“完全是捏造的，构成恶意诽谤”。