I've seen others saying that the "dog shit pot" has finally been removed, but I want to say that we should always be vigilant about what's happening around us when we engage in amateur radio. We need to stay alert and maintain a watchful eye, as the community is relatively small but very important. It requires everyone to work together to protect it.
The following article was reprinted from the WeChat official account of the Ministry of National Security.
Recently, work by national security agencies revealed that multiple overseas organizations used the bait of providing equipment for free and sharing aviation information to recruit "volunteers" from within China through online social platforms. They then shipped equipment across borders and instructed these "volunteers" to illegally collect flight data for aircraft operating in China and transmit it secretly abroad.
How do these foreign organizations carry out espionage activities? What tricks and methods do they use? Let's take a closer look.
Targeted recruitment and deployment of equipment
Investigations revealed that these overseas organizations have been actively operating on various Chinese online platforms, including Weibo, Baidu Tieba, forums, QQ groups, and video websites, for a long time. They seek out active aviation enthusiasts and use email, short messages, and other methods to publish "personalized" and "customized" recruitment advertisements. In these ads, the overseas organizations exploit the aviation enthusiasts' passion and curiosity for aviation information, using free equipment and shared aviation information as bait to conduct targeted recruitment.
These overseas organizations will send portable signal receiving devices, similar in size to a typical smartphone, to newly recruited "volunteers" via international express delivery. They will then remotely instruct the "volunteers" to deploy these devices near major airports within China, enabling them to automatically collect information about aircraft types, altitudes, longitudes, latitudes, speeds, headings, and other data within a certain range around the airports. This data is then transmitted in real-time to servers designated by the overseas organizations.
Data breach poses a threat.
National security agencies have discovered that these overseas organizations are deploying a large number of such devices in provinces surrounding the Bohai, East China Sea, and South China Seas. This not only allows them to steal civilian aviation data but also sensitive information about military aircraft.
Portable signal receiving devices sent by overseas organizations (as shown in images)
After testing, the equipment installed by overseas institutions has strong performance and supports remote online programming. It can also be customized to provide "personalized" features as needed. Furthermore, the equipment is equipped with GPS chips that can locate specific aircraft and quickly transmit collected data to overseas servers via encrypted transmission methods. Based on calculations, each device can send approximately 1000 flights per day and about 130,000 location data points to overseas servers.
Based on a coverage radius of 300 to 400 kilometers, deploying approximately 300 devices would be sufficient to monitor all flight data for aircraft within the entire airspace. Furthermore, when a large number of unauthorized devices are in operation, they can interfere with both civilian and military air traffic control systems, posing a significant threat to aviation safety.
In response to these illegal acts of stealing my sensitive data, national security agencies, in collaboration with relevant departments, launched a nationwide special crackdown, promptly seizing hundreds of sets of devices that had been deployed within the country. Relevant individuals were then legally penalized.
Notice from National Security Agencies
According to the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Counter-Espionage," any foreign organizations, groups, or individuals who carry out, direct, or fund others in carrying out, or collaborate with domestic organizations, groups, or individuals to obtain, investigate, buy, or illegally provide data that compromises national security and interests, constitutes espionage.
The "Data Security Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that any organization or individual collecting data must do so in a lawful and legitimate manner, and shall not obtain data through theft or other illegal means.
Maintaining national security is the responsibility and duty of every citizen. If you discover any illegal activities or suspicious situations that threaten national security, please report them promptly through the 12339 reporting hotline, the online reporting platform (www.12339.gov.cn), the WeChat official account of the Ministry of National Security, or directly to the local national security authorities for investigation and evidence gathering.
Please credit the source if you republish this material. National Security Bureau WeChat official account.
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