China’s top spy agency warns officials to avoid storing classified data in the cloud

Chinese Ministry of State Security says foreign agents are trying to steal sensitive information through cyberattacks and Trojan horse viruses

Those who must use online storage services should disable sharing, encrypt documents and change passwords frequently, it says

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Cloud data has become “a major focus of foreign spy agencies”, according to China’s Ministry of State Security. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:00pm, 5 Jun 2024Updated: 7:14pm, 5 Jun 2024

China’s top spy agency has warned government officials against storing classified information on cloud services, saying the data could easily be compromised by foreign spies.

Cloud data has become “a major focus of foreign spy agencies”, the Ministry of State Security said on its official WeChat account on Wednesday morning.

The ministry warned that “they [foreign spies] are trying to steal our sensitive information and classified data through various means, such as cyberattacks and inserting Trojan horse viruses, posing a serious threat to personal privacy and national security”.

It cited several cases of government officials using cloud storage to store classified information, adding that they had “weak security awareness” and had been punished.

But it did not say whether the cases involved espionage or what punishment the officials received.

To prevent data leaks, the ministry urged officials and employees of government departments “involved in classified information” to “strictly prevent the storage, processing, transmission and discussion of confidential and sensitive information on the internet, mobile phones and cloud storage”.

It advised officials to disable all sharing if they must use a cloud drive and to encrypt documents, change passwords frequently and turn off the automatic backup option.

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