China targets devices it says are used to send flight data to ‘foreign entities’
- Free aviation information-sharing devices used to recruit ‘volunteers’ from Chinese social networks, spy agency says
- A nationwide operation has been launched, with hundreds of the devices seized and the individuals involved penalised
In a statement posted to its official WeChat social media account on Saturday, the Ministry of State Security said several foreign entities “have been using free aviation information-sharing devices as bait to recruit aviation hobbyists from Chinese social networks as ‘volunteers’”.
The ministry said those individuals had then illegally collected the flight data of Chinese aircraft and transmitted it to foreign organisations.
“National security authorities, in collaboration with relevant departments, have launched a nationwide special operation to address this issue,” it said.
The statement said hundreds of the devices had been seized and the individuals involved were penalised.
The ministry did not name the foreign organisations, but claimed they had deployed the devices in provinces surrounding the Bohai Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea.