Beijing’s top spy agency cracks down on illegal foreign weather stations amid push to stop data leaving China
- Ministry investigates over 3,000 overseas-related meteorological stations, saying they pose risks and threats to national security
- It says meteorological data is ‘closely linked to national, food and ecological security, climate change, along with public interests’
China’s top spy agency said it cleaned up hundreds of “illegal foreign-related” weather stations that sent real-time data outside China, as it steps up efforts to stop critical data leaving the country amid increasingly tense geopolitical competition.
The Ministry of State Security investigated over 3,000 overseas-related meteorological stations across more than 20 provinces, saying they posed risks and threats to national security, according to a post published on its official WeChat account on Tuesday.
It said more than 10 meteorological agents with overseas links had also been investigated in this year’s nationwide inspection and that some of the devices were not easy to detect because they were relatively small and easy to install.
“Meteorological data constitutes an essential component of data security and resource security; it is closely linked to national, food and ecological security, climate change, along with public interests,” according to the post.
“The illegal collection and cross-border transmission of meteorological data pose a threat to our country’s sovereignty, security and development interests.”
The move was announced as Beijing grows more wary of potential data leakage amid intense geopolitical tensions with the US. Chinese authorities have ramped up national security-related scrutiny in a wide range of areas.