China Electronic Spying Threat

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis‘ recent visit to China highlighted the security dangers posed by sophisticated Chinese electronic spying in the capital of Beijing.

Security precautions for those traveling with the defense secretary were extremely tight during his June 26-28 visit.

To prevent Chinese spying through cellphones or laptop computers, the 10 journalists traveling aboard the secretary’s Air Force E-4B nuclear command plane, a militarized Boeing 747, were prohibited from bringing any electronic devices that were taken off the aircraft during the two-day visit back onto the plane. Anything that used wireless connectivity was deemed potentially vulnerable to Chinese hacking.

Security officials were concerned that China’s formidable electronic spies would plant viruses or other malware onto the cellphones and laptops, allowing remote spying aboard the aircraft.

The concerns were magnified because the E-4B is one of the more sensitive aircraft in the military’s inventory. The jets — four are currently deployed — are critical elements of nuclear command and control systems used by commanders to communicate with their forces during a nuclear crisis or conflict.

Gaining access to the electronics or communications of the command plane could allow the Chinese military to block or disrupt nuclear commands, or spy on nuclear command-and-control methods.

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