MI5 warns 20,000 people in the UK approached online by Chinese spies

18 October 2023 , 11:40

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M15 director general Ken McCallum has warned of a "sustained campaign" by Chinese hackers (Image: PA)

Brits have been warned by MI5 to protect themselves against Chinese hackers amid warnings more than 20,000 people have been approached by spies.

Companies and organisations involved in new technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and synthetic biology are being told to take immediate action to protect their intellectual property. There are serious concerns entrepreneurs could end up signing contracts which take their intellectual property taken offshore and lost for good. Intelligence agencies from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - known as the Five Eyes alliance, have all issued similar advice, particularly to start-up businesses in emerging technologies.

Members of the Five Eyes alliance pose for a photograph (PA)

MI5 director-general Ken McCallum told the BBC : “We have seen a sustained campaign on a pretty epic scale.” He added MI5 believes more than 20,000 people in the UK have been approached by people suspected to be Chinese agents on networking sites such as LinkedIn.

He added: “Across all five of our countries we are seeing a sharp rise in aggressive attempts by other states to steal competitive advantage.This contest is particularly acute on emerging technologies; states which lead the way in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and synthetic biology will have the power to shape all our futures. We all need to be aware, and respond, before it's too late."

Mr McCallum appeared onstage with the other heads of the Five Eyes intelligence services in public for the first time on Tuesday, at an event hosted by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the FBI. During a so-called fireside chat to open the summit, FBI director Chris Wray said: "There is no greater threat to innovation than the Chinese government and it is a measure of how seriously the five of us and our services take the threat that we have chosen to come together to try to highlight it, raise awareness, raise resilience and work closely with the private sector to try to build better protection for innovation, especially in a place like northern California but really across all five of our countries."

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As well as the international advice, there is guidance drawn up by the protective security arm of MI5 and part of GCHQ that will be made available for businesses in the UK. It covers areas including investments, supply chains, travel, IT networks and cloud computing. While there is also concern about countries including Russia and Iran, the main warnings are focused on China. The number of investigations by the UK intelligence service into Chinese activity of concern rose seven times between 2018 and 2022.

Antony Clements-Thrower