U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) took to Twitter to share his concerns about a report released by Recorded Future, a threat intelligence company, that analyzed recent Chinese open-source intelligence (OSINT) collecting.
“Developments like these show why we need to take the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] seriously and work swiftly to address them,” U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said in a tweet June 1.
The report covers attempts by China to compile public information from sources such as the Pentagon, think tanks and universities, the New York Times reported.
As relations between China and the U.S. become more contested, a greater emphasis is being placed on intelligence capabilities, The Times reported. However, since autocratic China refrains from sharing much of its information, particularly concerning its military, it is very difficult for the U.S. to acquire intelligence that is available to the public.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China is using five private information providers to take complete advantage of the transparency of the United States and similar democratic countries, Recorded Future said in a news release.
In the report, it is stated that this information most likely gives insight into other militaries, such as that of the U.S. and its allies, and proposed different applications for military OSINT, beyond its role in simple decision-making. This included long-range tracking, precision strikes and crisis warnings.
Zoe Haver, an analyst for Recorded Future, said that the PLA seems to believe that the U.S. will become involved in any sort of conflict between China and Taiwan, according to the Times, with Haver noting, “They work very hard to prepare for that type of scenario.”
Haver believes questions should be raised concerning the amount of intelligence the U.S. makes public.
“At the end of the day, we don’t expect Western countries to close off their information environments,” she said.
The Times said that Recorded Future hoped to call attention to the Chinese collection of OSINT and advise the government and companies to be more aware of what information they are releasing and selling.
Chicago Business reported recently that Krishnamoorthi said “de-risking parts of the supply chain” where the U.S. depends on China is of major importance. Chicago Business added that the House select committee on the CCP, with Krishnamoorthi as ranking member, exists to focus on Chinese economic, as well as military, threats to the U.S.
