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 organisation 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 spokesman 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 organisation.

“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 largest 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”.