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#China and #Solomon Islands Draft Secret #SecurityPact, Raising Alarm in the Pacific

//A leaked document has revealed that China and the Solomon Islands are close to signing a security agreement that could open the door to Chinese troops and naval warships flowing into a Pacific Island nation that played a pivotal role in World War II.

The agreement, kept secret until now, was shared online Thursday night by opponents of the deal and verified as legitimate by the Australian government...

it has set off alarms throughout the Pacific, where concerns about Chinaā€™s intentions have been growing for years.

ā€œThis is deeply problematic for the United States and a real cause of concern for our allies and partners,ā€ Charles Edel, the inaugural Australia chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said on Friday.

ā€œThe establishment of a base in the Solomon Islands by a strategic adversary would significantly degrade Australia and New Zealandā€™s security, increase the chances of local corruption and heighten the chances of resource exploitation.ā€

The leaked document states that ā€œSolomon Islands may, according to its own needs, request China to send police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces to Solomon Islands to assist in maintaining social order, protecting peopleā€™s lives and property.ā€//

Read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/world/asia/china-solomon-islands-security-pact.html

Source: New York Times #Mar24

#Security #InternationalRelations #FiveEyes #Australia #Defense #Pacific #WW2
FBI investigation determined Chinese-made #Huawei equipment could disrupt US nuclear arsenal communications

//In 2017, the Chinese government was offering to spend $100 million to build an ornate Chinese garden at the #NationalArboretum in Washington DC. Complete with temples, pavilions and a 70-foot white pagoda, the project thrilled local officials, who hoped it would attract thousands of tourists every year.      

But when US counterintelligence officials began digging into the details, they found numerous red flags. The pagoda, they noted, would have been strategically placed on one of the highest points in #WashingtonDC, just two miles from the #USCapitol, a perfect spot for signals intelligence collection, multiple sources familiar with the episode told CNN.  

Also alarming was that Chinese officials wanted to build the pagoda with materials shipped to the US in diplomatic pouches, which #USCustoms officials are barred from examining, the sources said...

Among the most alarming things the #FBI uncovered pertains to Chinese-made Huawei equipment atop cell towers near US military bases in the rural Midwest. According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the FBI determined the equipment was capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by US Strategic Command, which oversees the country's nuclear weapons....//

Read the full article:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-huawei-china-defense-department-communications-nuclear/index.html

Source: CNN #Jul23

#CNNExclusive
#ChinaThreat #MadeinChina #Security #Espionage #ChineseGarden
#China Targeted #US Federal Reserve system to Build Informant Network and Access #Data, Probe Finds

//China tried to build a network of informants inside the Federal Reserve system, at one point threatening to imprison a Fed economist during a trip to Shanghai unless he agreed to provide nonpublic economic data, a congressional investigation found.

The investigation by Republican staff members of the Senateā€™s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs found that Fed employees were offered contracts with Chinese talent-recruitment programs, which often include cash payments, and asked to provide information on the U.S. economy, interest-rate changes and policies, according to a report of the findings released Tuesday [July 26, 2022].//

Read more:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-targeted-fed-to-build-informant-network-access-data-a-probe-says-11658826000

Source: WSJ #Jul26

#Espionage #Beijing #Security #Infiltration #FED
#Surveillance
Portable charger in China Turned into Eavesdropping Device and GPS Locator


In China, a portable charger can become an eavesdropping device and a GPS locator. Acoording to Chinese media, with the installation of SIM card, such portable charger can eavesdrop a long distance away and locate the user accurately.

These devices come in various colours and models, but most have the functionality of "remote monitoring recording" and "precise positioning".

They cost from RMB300 to RMB600 and can be bought on some online platforms.

In China, a journalist from #Banyuetan (#åŠęœˆč«‡) successfully modifies a portable charger from a store with RMB300. He downloads a "#GPS365" app onto his phone. After logging in with the username and password given by the seller, the screen shows the device location, tracking record, contact list, messages etc.

The journalist puts "location" in trial and finds out that the activity tracking of the user can be seen clearly with the portable charger. Even places like underground and car parks can still be accurately shown on the system.

The staff told the journalist that the charger could record sound from the surroundings and automatically send the recording to the phone once the environment noise exceeds 50dB with "Sound Control Convo (#č²ęŽ§čŖžčŠåˆ°)" installed in the app. The portable charger can also pick up phone calls automatically.

Source: RFA #Jul27
https://www.facebook.com/454004001340790/posts

#GPS #SoundControl #Tracking #Taobao #Privacy #Security #PrecisePositioning #MadeinChina
U.S. FBI director says TikTok poses national security concerns

The U.S. operations of Chinese-owned TikTok raise national security concerns, FBI Director Chris Wray said on Tuesday, flagging the risk that the Chinese government could harness the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.

Risks include "the possibility that the Chinese government could use [TikTok] to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations," Wray told U.S. lawmakers.

Sourceļ¼šReuters #Nov15

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/us-fbi-director-says-tiktok-poses-national-security-concerns-2022-11-15/

#FBI #TikTok #Security #China