How serious is it that “foreign professors” steal our sensitive data in the name of scientific research?

Recently, based on clues, the national security authorities have worked quickly together with relevant departments to investigate and punish a series of overseas non-governmental organizations or foundations that have illegally collected and stolen sensitive data such as geography, meteorology, and biology from my country's important nature reserves under the banner of "project investigation and research" and "ecological governance and protection." They have resolutely cracked down on data theft in China's ecological environment field, assisted in building a strong protective embankment, and effectively safeguarded my country's ecological security.

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These espionage activities are eye-opening for us. Some foreign professors illegally installed and collected information under the pretext of "cross-border academic exchanges", while others used "project cooperation" to steal sensitive data. These data pointed to the "geographical, meteorological and biological" information of my country's ecology.

Why would spies be interested in this information? And what impact would the leakage of this information have on my country's ecological and national security?

Is geographic information still important in the satellite age?

Geographic information has been regarded as "a sacred treasure of the country that cannot be given to others" since ancient times. Many well-known historical stories show how important maps are.

For example, if Jing Ke had not presented the Yan State map, which was so valuable, he would not have had the chance to succeed. Later, Zhang Song presented the map, which was because Liu Bei valued talents and because the Xichuan map was very valuable.

In modern times, the Japanese invaders illegally surveyed and mapped my country in large quantities before their invasion, which shows the great significance of geographic information. Geographic information is an important part of national strategic information resources, and it concerns major issues such as national territory, sovereignty and security. It is sensitive information owned by the state, which naturally includes information on nature reserves and other areas that the spies stole this time.

Some people may be curious. Now there are so many high-precision satellites that you can get topographic maps by just taking a picture, and you can use electronic map navigation on your mobile phone. In this case, if someone wants to steal, they can just use satellite photos. Why do they need to steal specifically?

In fact, this is an overestimation of satellite technology. Although the resolution of satellite data is constantly improving, the demand for high-precision and high-timeliness data is still insufficient.

In addition, satellites are easily obscured by clouds, terrain or other objects. For example, under a large tree, the various terrains and ecological diversity under the tree are simply impossible to identify. In addition, the update frequency of satellite data is also lower.

Because of this, after remote sensing satellites take photos, we still need to combine them with real-life surveying and exploration to complete the investigation of the real geographic information data of a certain place. By stealing our high-precision geographic information data, spies can restore the three-dimensional topographic maps of specific areas in important fields such as transportation, energy, and military, which poses a great threat and hidden danger to national security.

Over the years, my country has arrested many cases of foreign spies engaging in illegal surveying and mapping, which shows the current situation of a large amount of my country's geographic information being spied on and stolen.

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Why is weather information sensitive?

When it comes to meteorology, people may be more familiar with it than geography. After all, every mobile phone now has a weather app as standard, and people will habitually check the weather before going out. This is especially true for agricultural production, where sowing, fertilizing, irrigation, etc. all require attention to weather forecasts.

But many times, you may find that the weather forecast is inaccurate. This is essentially because the data is not sufficient. Weather is generally composed of five major factors: temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind direction, and wind speed. If we can collect enough of these data, then after a long period of modeling, theoretically we can make accurate predictions about the next weather.

Traditional weather forecasts work on this principle, using weather maps, meteorological satellites and relevant model experience to calculate. However, these data are actually very large in scope and have low accuracy. The weather is affected by multiple factors and often changes dramatically in a short period of time, so there are often phenomena such as "snow on the top of the mountain and rain on the mountainside" and "sunrise in the east and rain in the west".

If we establish various meteorological information collection points in a certain place, then as long as there is enough data, we can accurately predict and master the data of a certain place. Accurate meteorological information can be used to predict and analyze weather changes, climate change, disasters, crop growth, rocket launches, aircraft takeoffs and landings, etc., and is an important guide and reference for national strategic decision-making and actions.

By stealing meteorological data, spies can predict my country's strategic deployments such as military operations, agricultural production and energy supply, and carry out targeted attacks or sabotage, posing a huge threat to my country's national defense security.

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Biometric information? Of course it’s about security

Our survival and development depend on biological resources, whether it is food, medicine, materials or fuel, many of which come from organisms. Animals provide meat, eggs, milk and leather and fur, plants provide food, vegetables and fruits, wood and medicinal materials, microorganisms provide medicine, agriculture, energy and many of our indispensable biological fermentation products such as fermented pasta, vinegar, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate and so on.

my country is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity in the world, with rich terrestrial and marine ecosystems and a very rich variety of biological species. These rich species provide us with a very large number of resources, whether it is the various crops domesticated by our ancestors or the many livestock and poultry we still use today, they are the true value of these resources. Many of these resources are unique to my country, and once they are stolen by foreign countries, they may cause significant losses.

For example, the hybrid rice parent seeds were stolen some time ago. This is because this unique parent seed was found by our scientists after years of hard work. If it was stolen by foreign countries, not only would they gain without any effort, but it would also cause economic losses to our country.

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For example, a foreign seed agency obtained wild soybeans from Shanghai, my country through unknown means, and eventually developed a new variety and applied for a patent, which almost made us "plant Chinese soybeans and infringe American rights." In addition, if foreign countries steal our biological resources, they may not only create new varieties and sell them to us at high prices, but also develop special biological weapons against these species, threatening our security.

In addition, if our biological resources are stolen by foreign countries, not only may they create new varieties and sell them to us at high prices, but they may also develop special biological weapons targeting these species, threatening our security.

Despite clear prohibitions, some people still break the law

Some people may think the best of others, thinking that they made mistakes accidentally because they didn't know the relevant regulations. In fact, we are not punishing without teaching. my country has clear laws and regulations on this information, and corresponding warning information will be set in sensitive areas.

For example, in terms of geographic information security, Article 8 of the "Surveying and Mapping Law of the People's Republic of China" clearly stipulates that foreign organizations or individuals engaging in surveying and mapping activities in my country need approval from relevant departments and abide by relevant laws and regulations. They should cooperate with relevant departments or units and must not involve state secrets or endanger national security.

For example, in the field of meteorology, Articles 5 and 6 of the "Regulations on Foreign Meteorological Observation and Data Management" formulated by the China Meteorological Administration clearly define the various regulations that foreign organizations or individuals must abide by when conducting detection and obtaining meteorological data, as well as the penalties for violations.

In terms of biology, my country has a number of laws and regulations to regulate it. For example, Article 58 of the "Biosafety Law of the People's Republic of China" and Articles 38 and 43 of the "Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" all stipulate the acquisition and use of my country's biological resources and information by foreign individuals and organizations.

In addition, there are many laws and regulations such as the "Fisheries Law of the People's Republic of China", "Animal Epidemic Prevention Law of the People's Republic of China", "Law of the People's Republic of my country on Import and Export Animal and Plant Quarantine", and "Seed Law of the People's Republic of China" that regulate biological protection in our country.

It should be noted that this does not mean that my country refuses international cooperation. For example, Article 38 of the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China states that "International scientific research cooperation shall be approved in accordance with the law, and my country's scientific research institutions, universities, enterprises and their researchers shall participate in the research in a substantial manner, propose plans for national benefit sharing in accordance with regulations, and abide by the provisions of my country's laws and administrative regulations."

It can be seen that we have clearly issued many laws and regulations, done a lot of publicity and signage work, and opened a window for cooperation. If there are still people who take risks secretly, then he must have ulterior motives.

In recent years, many people have begun to illegally collect and steal sensitive data such as geography, meteorology, biology, etc. from important nature reserves in my country under various pretexts such as "project investigation and research" and "ecological governance and protection". This is undoubtedly a violation of national security. We must be vigilant in our daily lives. If we see suspicious surveying and collection activities, especially near military facilities, in protected areas, or in remote places that should be sparsely populated, we can call 12399 and other telephone numbers to report the situation.

Author: Li Lei, PhD in Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher

Reviewer: Dai Teqi, Associate Professor, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Beijing Normal University